Chapter 9: Binks' Brew! Nami Loves Ash?
The new morning rose on a new day among the Thousand Sunny. Brook stepped out to sniff the salty sea despite no nose on him. "Such a breathtaking morning on a partly cloudy day," he admired. This calls for a song." The women and most of the men woke and came out to see Brook holding a violin. Zoro's in the crow's nest for meditation and Ash wasn't awake unlike Pikachu, wearing the new pirate garb given to it by the Foxy Pirates. Brook started to play.
"Yo hohoho, yo hohoho Yo hohoho, yo hohoho
Yo hohoho, yo hohoho Yo hohoho, yo hohoho
Gather up all of the crew, it's time to ship out Binks' brew.
Sea wind blows, to where, who knows? The waves will be our guide.
O'er across the ocean's tide. Rays of sunshine far and wide.
Birds they sing, of cheerful things, in circles passing by.
Bid farewell to weaver's town, say so long to port renowned.
Sing a song, it won't be long, before we're casting off.
Cross the gold and silver seas, a salty spray puts us at ease,
Day and night, to our delight, the voyage never ends.
Gather up all of the crew, it's time to ship out Binks' brew.
Pirates, we eternally are challenging the sea.
With the waves to rest our heads, ship beneath us as our beds,
hoisted high upon the mast, our jolly roger flies.
Somewhere in the endless sky, stormy winds are blowing by,
waves are dancing, evening comes, it's time to sound the drums.
But steady men, and never fear, tomorrow's skies are always clear.
So pound your feet and clap your hands 'til sunny days return.
Yo hohoho, yo hohoho Yo hohoho, yo hohoho
Yo hohoho, yo hohoho Yo hohoho, yo hohoho
Gather up all of the crew, it's time to ship out Binks' brew.
Wave goodbye, but don't you cry, our memories remain.
Our days are but a passing dream, everlasting though they seem.
Beneath the moon we'll meet again, the wind's our lullaby.
Gather up all of the crew, it's time to ship out Binks' brew.
Sing a song, and play along for all the oceans wide.
After all is said and done, you'll end up a skeleton,
so spread your tale from dawn 'til dusk upon these foamy seas.
Yo hohoho, yo hohoho…Yo hohoho, yo hohoho…
Yo hohoho, yo hohoho…Yo hohoho, yo hohoho…
Yo hohoho, yo hohoho…Yo hohoho, yo hohoho…
Yo hohoho, yo hohoho…Yo hohoho, yo hohoho…"
Brook's singing brought awe to Pikachu and woke Ash out of bed. He staggered out of the room as he saw Brook with Luffy, Usopp and Pikachu nearby. "I guess you're the alarm clock on the Sunny to welcome the morning," he joked. Pikachu and the boys saw Ash before his Pokémon dashed to his side.
"Oh, good morning, Ash!" greeted Brook. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb your slumber." Ash chuckled and waived his hand, not a big deal.
"Well, I'm not actually upset from that catchy number you had." Luffy snickered to Ash's response.
"I take it you enjoyed Binks' Brew, huh?" he guessed. To Ash, he believed it was a drink.
"All I had was Cola from Franky." Usopp shook his head.
"That's not what Binks' Brew is, Ash," he wanted to correct. "Binks' Brew's a song of olden times which pirates sang and danced to. In fact, it's still played today in plenty of places."
"Yep, I always enjoy listening to that good ol' Brew," Luffy joked. "Even my friend, Shanks, danced back at my home in Windmill Village." Pikachu laughed to the captain's point. Ash realized the Brew wasn't made from alcohol.
"It's a pirate song?" he figured. "How was I suppose to know?" Brook forgave Ash for the misinformation.
"We should have been more clear about that but yes, it's a song that I still remember since I've been with the Rumbar Pirates," he explained. "We play that song through the good times, the bad times and when we're wounded with poison and died. Of course, death isn't easy to accept when you've eaten the Revive-Revive Fruit. Heck, we even sang it for Laboon when he's around before I became a Straw Hat." The song interested Ash to learn more about it. Robin came to see the group gathered about the song.
"Well… Can you teach me the song of Binks' Brew?" The request made Brook chortle.
"But of course you can, Ash! You won't believe the joy I'm having with this request!"
"Yeah, singing about the Brew's more enjoyable than taking a sip of it," Luffy joked. The four began to sing while Luffy and Ash held each one's shoulders. Robin watched in humor to seeing the boys having a good time. About half an hour of singing, Usopp awed Ash's quick study.
"Not bad," he complimented. Ash sneered as he brought out the Afro wig. Robin irked to seeing the wig as the boys awed what he had.
"The Afro!" gulped Brook.
"Thanks, but I needed to keep in mind," he started before wearing the wig. The magic of the wig needed a few seconds. "The soul of the song must be in the same vibe as the soul of the man. Otherwise, the sync between the two loses the unity and the only funk would be the smell of bad music." The boys awed the Afro Ash and his interpretation.
"That is so true," Usopp shivered.
"…AND SO FUNKY!" the three cheered. Robin cackled at Ash's Afro-styled statement, holding her stomach as her legs began to give way. Zoro, listening from the crow's nest, groaned to Ash's latest Afro-mentioned expression.
"That's messed up for the Afro to bring that out," he groaned. Meanwhile in the women's room, Nami paced around the room for an idea. She's searched around the Sunny for Ash's GS Ball. So far, nothing…
'He couldn't have hidden the GS Ball that well,' she thought. 'I've looked high and low on this tub. What should I do?' Looking through the window, she saw Ash showing Luffy some more Pokémon on his device.
"So, how do you know if an attack works on a Pokémon?" the captain questioned.
"You won't know unless you try the attack on a Pokémon," Ash tried to explain. "Sometimes, the attack's super effective, sometimes, the attack doesn't do a thing. It's like Pikachu using Thunderbolt on Diglett. Since Diglett's a Ground Pokémon, it wouldn't be shocked since… it's grounded."
"Okay but what if Squirtle's Water Gun on Pikachu? Would that not do anything?"
"Not quite. It won't do much since it's a Water attack on an Electric Pokémon." Nami wanted to know the whereabouts of the GS Ball.
'Suddenly, I'm not gonna like what I'm about to do,' she minded. 'But, I know that GS Ball's worth a lot and I'll do whatever I can to get it.' That's when she spotted Sanji entering the kitchen. "Hey, Sanji!" Excited, Sanji came to the doorway.
"You called, Nami-Swan?" he cooed.
"Listen, I want you to look for the GS Ball. It's somewhere on this ship." Without wasting another second, Sanji saluted.
"I'll find it in no time, Nami-Swan!" He dashed off. This gave Nami a chance with their new member.
"Ash?" Hearing his name, Ash turned to the redhead. "I got some equipment that needs some muscle. Mind pitching in?"
"Not at all," he accepted as he came inside the room… and into her trap. "So what do you need help-" The door slammed shut and Ash turned to see Nami locking the two inside. "Uh oh…" Pikachu heard the door slam and turned to side of the deck while helping Robin water the plants.
"Did you hear something?" asked Robin as she saw Pikachu's ears perk. Pikachu shook its head. With the door locked, Ash was at the mercy of Nami with a wicked smile.
"Now let's see how much you can take before you submit to my will," she sneered while strutting to Ash. "Like knowing where that special ball is." She batted her eyelashes, hoping to get somewhere. Ash started to breathe a little uneasy but stood his ground. She palmed her hand on his cheek, her fingers caressing his face before combing his hair. Ash's face began to turn red, his heart racing. Nami licked and kissed his cheeks. She kissed his eyelids, forehead, chin, nose and the zigzags beneath the eyes. Not content, she came to and connected her lips with his, her tongue moistening inside his cheeks. Ash became startled with Nami's techniques.
'Okay, she's really working my face over,' he minded. 'What's she trying to do?' She removed her lips to see the status. Noting his blushing face and feeling his heart with a hand to the chest.
"A racing heart… Your defenses are wearing down…" Ash tried to feign off the advancement. "Looks like I'll have to bust out my best if I need for you to cooperate." She reached back and began to untie a string to her bra. Seeing her lure, Ash finally reacted and grabbed the bra.
"Slow down!" To Nami, she found Ash's breaking point.
"A-ha… I thought we'd get to that scenario."
"Yeah? Tell that to the two outside!" Nami blinked before seeing googling eyes of Sanji and Brook also watching. They raced around to the women's room and Sanji kicked the door down.
"Alright, you little bastard!" he snapped while wet and holding Ash's GS Ball. "That's the closest you'll ever-" Despite having one arm since the other kept her bra in place, Nami delivered a backhand smash with her Clima-tact to Sanji's head.
"Get out!" she roared before she used Gust Sword to blow the two into the hammock where they became gift-wrapped. Her attack jarred the GS Ball from Sanji's hands. Pikachu heard the noise and came down to investigate. The sight of Sanji and Brook coming to see her strip made Nami breakdown. She turned to Ash after propping the door up. "I'll ask Franky to get that fixed. Don't look for a minute." Ash and Pikachu turned around while Nami gathered a red bra to wear, this one having "CRIMINAL" on the edge of one side. Ash checked the GS Ball and other than soaked, it didn't seem damaged.
"GS Ball's okay…" he muttered. As Nami put the new bra on, she began to realize Ash's action. To her, he saved her from harm by the cook and the musician.
"I'm sorry…" Ash turned to Nami, wondering about her apology. "I… I know that I wanted to take and sell that GS Ball from you. Also, thank you for looking out for me. I had no clue Sanji and Brook wanted to look inside here."
"Everything's okay." Nami glanced to Ash with a smile on his face. "Don't worry about it. As soon as you saw the GS Ball, and tried to take it from me, I had a feeling you'd do anything to get me to surrender the ball and that's why I hid it in the fish tank adjacent to the aquarium bar, behind a divider and in a weighted case." Nami awed how well hidden Ash made his GS Ball. She came clean about other departments.
"And I thought the tangerines were the only things I got from Bellemere." Recalling the name, Ash felt interested to know about her.
"Robin mentioned Bellemere the morning after the raid." Nami reached for a photo which had two little girls with hair similar to her and Nojiko. The other was a magenta-haired woman with the sides of her head shaven.
"Bellemere..." She handed the photo to Ash to examine as Pikachu reached Nami sitting down. "She was a Marine when they weren't as cruel as they're now. Still, she's as mischievous as I am. She came into Nojiko's and my life after we became orphans in a storm, and when we recovered... she adopted us. Everyone thought she wasn't fit but like I displayed on you, she's as stubborn as a mule... or whatever Pokémon you have for that. Once she became our stepmom, we learned quickly how tough of a woman she was and taught us about the tangerines tasting to our behaviors. Then came an invasion of pirates... The Arlong Pirates." Ash gawked to the new name of pirates, not liking Nami's tone about them.
"Doesn't sound like the same pirates I've known so far, us Straw Hats and the Foxy Pirates." Even Pikachu became a little fearful of what's about to come out.
"Not even close. The Arlong Pirates were rouge fishmen who invaded our home of Cocoyashi Village. Right in front of Nojiko and I… Arlong killed Bellemere." Ash and Pikachu gasped to the murder that she couldn't turn from.
"He- What?! You were forced to see it?!" Tears of the painful memory seeped from her eyes. It became nearly unbearable for either one.
"He shot her through the chest. In her dying breath, she apologized to me and Nojiko, for many things... and before she closed her eyes forever… She said… 'I love you.' From her death, we became Arlong's slaves before Luffy arrived and beat him." Ash's eyes began to dilate from hearing about her struggle. His breathing began to shallow out. Hearing his breathing, Nami patted his shoulder. Snapping out of his delusion, Ash looked up to Nami.
"What just happened?"
"I get that you're mad about what he did. It's okay." She then sat on the bed and held her arm which had a tattoo on it."I still bear the scars of her and myself. I had the Arlong Pirates tattoo and disgusted, I mutilated my own arm, wanting to destroy it. It's been replaced and I like it, but still hurts in such a long…" Hearing enough, Ash stood and hugged Nami. He wanted to sympathize with her and a hug was a start. "Ash…"
"I'm very... very sorry about what happened to you and Nojiko. I didn't mean for you to go down that dark past like that." Touched by his gesture, Nami returned the hug and wrapped her arms around him. Ash thought to what Nami remembered to Bellemere's last words. "Knowing that she loved you will still be in your heart forever… and I'll be here to help you if you need it." Nami began to cry while Pikachu watched the friendship blossom.
"Ash! Where were you when I needed this!? You're right now… the most important thing I want, not that ball you have to deliver!" Pikachu awed the resolve of the ordeal with the GS Ball. After drying her tears, Nami wanted to make up for her actions she displayed on Ash.
"I don't know if this will make you feel better but…" he minded. "Whenever I see Robin, her look reminds me of Mom back home." Nami recalled her time with Robin.
"I know," she thought back. "She told me when you two were in the hammock." Ash nodded, blushing to the reality.
"Well, I've been mistaken for a son twice, so… it's kinda ironic that I mention this when I inadvertently called Robin one. I was mistaken in HopHopHop Town for a boy hypnotized by a trainer's Hypno, and again by Luana who runs a hotel on Kumquat Island and is the last of the four Gym Leaders in the Orange Crew. It-" Ash stopped when he started to hear Nami snorting, trying to hold in her laugh. It's to no avail as she let loose a burst of hilarious laughter. Tears rained her face, unable to hold in oxygen. Those outside, and still conscious, heard the outburst.
"You think Ash told Nami a funny joke?" questioned Franky.
"I don't know but her laughing that loud is scary," Chopper shivered. Inside, Nami gave Ash another hug while patting his shoulders repeatedly.
"After all that, I needed something funny!" she laughed. She needed a minute to calm down and get her air back. "You win, Ash. Tell you what: why don't we go for a ride on the White Hobby Horse?" To Ash, the ordeal with the GS Ball had resolved.
"Okay!" he agreed. Both made their way to Franky's Workshop and Nami flipped the lever to "1," the setting for the White Hobby Horse. The hatch on the side of the Sunny turned to "1" before it opened and Ash, Nami and Pikachu zoomed out on a motorized boat in the shape of a white horse. The speed of the boat gave Ash a thrill. "Yee-haw!" Those on the Sunny, including Sanji and Brook saw the trio on the White Hobby Horse.
"Looks like they've patched whatever kept them apart, which isn't much," Robin smiled.
"That's so cool for Ash to be with Nami," Usopp awed. "I had a feeling there's chemistry between the two." Sanji whined to losing Nami's trust.
"It's not fair!" he cried. "Why does he get to ride with Nami and I can't!?"
"I wanna know what he's doing to get this close to the girls," Brook whimpered. Seeing how the White Hobby Horse worked, Ash had an idea.
"I think I've got how it works," he said. "I can let you ride Lapras if you want." Nami awed the offer.
"Really?" she gasped. As proof, Ash grabbed Lapras' Pokéball and hurled it up. The ball opened and Lapras exited.
"Hey, Lapras! You wanna give Nami a ride?" Lapras turned to Nami and noticed her arms around his torso. It became excited and agreed with a wail.
"Thanks, Lapras!" Nami leaped from the White Hobby Horse to the Transport Pokémon. Those on the Sunny watched in delight to despair as Nami's enjoyment of riding on Lapras.
"If Lapras can go underwater, I think I'm safer here," Chopper shared.
"Being Devil Fruit users, I would agree," Robin acknowledged. Ash rode the White Hobby Horse alongside Nami and Lapras. Meanwhile on a far away island, Team Rocket had constructed another boat to give chase.
"That rubberized twerp should be sued for copyright infringement!" growled Jessie. "That's our Rocket he used to send us blasting off!"
"I'm still shocked at the twerp becoming a pirate," James muttered. "Makes me feel like he's a better bad guy than we are!"
"I don't care if that twerp's a king! He's still a twerp!" That's when Jessie spotted a bumpy brown cucumber with swirl patterns all over. Jessie couldn't help but glare at it. "What do you suppose this is?" James and Meowth came to see the cucumber and blinked.
"Some sort of special fruit?" the Alley Cat Pokémon guessed. That's when a net came out of nowhere. It snared the Rockets who began to struggle to free themselves.
"Get us outta here!" shouted James. That's when the net began to move.
"I dink da Marines want deir boat back!" The trio turned to find a large red ship with a handful of sails on one mast. The front of the ship had designs of shark teeth while having a saw-like spear as the figurehead. One sail was black where it had crossbones behind a red saw-nose shark curled.
"Great, it's more pirates!" They peered down to see crosses of human and fish. One was a bluish-gray man in a black karate Gi. Another was a blue-skinned muscled man with an outstretched mouth. He wore a blue-striped vest. The Rocket men shrieked in fear of the fishmen.
"How about this catch?" one of the fishmen sneered. "We got two humans and a cat in our net!"
"I know cats like to eat fish," another fishmen mocked. "How does it feel to have the tables turned?" The Rockets shrieked louder.
"You're obviously unaware of who you're up against," Jessie defied.
"You're saying we're unaware?" the gray man scoffed. "Perhaps you should be aware of us. We're fishmen! Futhermore, we're the Arlong Pirates!"
"Well, guess what! I don't care!" The net lowered to the deck which Jessie threw the ropes away. "You'll buckle under the power of Team Rocket! Arbok, Lickitung, come on out!" She threw two Pokéballs out and released a large purple cobra and a pink round creature with a large and long tongue.
"I don't like our odds but it's better to fight!" growled James. "Weezing, Victreebel, I need you!" He threw two Pokéballs and released a floating purple cluster of crater-covered balloons with faces and a large yellow bell-shaped plant with a huge mouth on top. The bell-shape plant jumped on James and tried to eat him. "When will you stop trying to eat me?!"
"Arbok, Poison Sting!" The cobra spat volleys of stingers from its mouth. It reached the gray man who held a handful of water. He threw it and sniped the stingers, knocking them to the ground.
"Victreebel, get up front and use Vine Whip!" Victreebel flung its vine and grabbed the blue-skinned man.
"Chew!" the fishmen cried. Victreebel flung Chew at the fishmen, knocking them down.
"That worked, Victreebel! Nice work!" That's when a clap echoed. All turned to a large silhouette with a saw-like nose.
"Finally, humans and creatures I can have for a master plan," he grinned. "After two years of humiliation back in Cocoyashi Village, humans I can see as useful." Team Rocket wondered who the big man in shadow was.
"So, you want to challenge my Pokémon as well?" urged Jessie. "And take this?" The silhouette saw the brown cucumber, noting the swirls.
"It seems you've picked up a Devil Fruit. Eating one will give you special powers, though we don't know what it contains." Jessie looked to the now-identified Devil Fruit.
"So, this is no ordinary fruit?"
"Anyway, I may need your assistance in some work. How about it?" Team Rocket heard and gathered to discuss. It's mostly quiet before they broke the huddle.
"We're listening," Meowth sneered. A plan seemed to be in the works. Nightfall back at the Sunny and everyone's called it a day. While they looked asleep, they didn't sound asleep.
"I can't wait to see you hold a sword, Curlybrows," Zoro groaned before snoring.
"You'll be my taste-testing guinea pig of my worst, Moss-Head," Sanji mumbled before some z's snorted. From the wall was a link of hands from palm to arm. From one arm's end had an eye in the palm while the other had an ear. Both focused on Ash. Robin's powers came from the other side in the women's room where she was with Nami and Pikachu.
"So peaceful despite Zoro and Sanji's argument," she reported. "The more I see him, the more I don't wanna let him go." Nami and Pikachu snickered to Robin's dream.
"After what happened between me and Ash, I wanna join in," Nami agreed. "I still can't believe I wanted to strip in front of him after swarming him with all those kisses." Robin heard the details.
"So, was that when Sanji broke the door down?"
"Yeah, and Ash must've seen them before I did. It's no wonder he protected me from… whatever Sanji and Brook would do to me. I even brought up Bellemere and what happened in Cocoyashi Village before we met you."
"Well, Ash is a special child. I wouldn't mind calling him my son if he agrees."
"Funny you mentioned that. He told me about a pair of cases of 'Mistaken Son Syndrome.'" Robin turned to Nami with interest.
"Someone thought Ash was their flesh and blood?"
"Yeah, including a Gym Leader who's son coincidentally owned a Pikachu." Robin let out a laugh.
"He's got plenty of funny stories. I wonder what he'll talk about next."
"Not sure, but I could brief on his lips when I kissed him." Robin and Pikachu turned to Nami about the topic.
"Really? Were they as firm as his build thanks to Zoro?"
"No, as a matter of fact, he's got soft lips." Robin and Pikachu giggled to her briefing, now knowing a part of Ash's body not strengthened by Zoro's training.
"Soft lips, eh?" She then yawned as well as the other two. "Well, goodnight, Nami, Pikachu."
("Night, Robin,") Pikachu squeaked. The Sunny became quiet. However, it wasn't left alone. No one bothered to know a glass bottle beating the side of the ship. On the deck was a tiny figure who saw the lights turn off in the women's room. The figure found the window and saw Robin.
"Great, I'm back on Straw Hats ship!" a young woman cheered. "I know where I'm going." She sneaked around the deck and entered the men's room. She heard snores. "Everyone's asleep. Nice…" She leaped onto Ash's bed to find him also sawing logs. This made her curious. "A new pirate? Rather young but not bad looking. Hm…" That's when she yawned as well. "That little voyage wore me out. I'll need some shut-eye if anything." She snooped around Ash and dove into his hair. This favored her. "It's a jungle with his hair. Let me tie a few strands and… voila!" After that, noise quelled. Who was that? And what did the Arlong Pirates want with Team Rocket?
TO BE CONTINUED…