Small Talk
"Kyaaah! Your hair is so pretty, Tama-chan~" Nami squealed in delight as she softly brushed the young girl's purple hair. The young girl smiled with a small blush on her face, the compliment making her happy.
"Thank you, Nami-chan! Your hair is more pretty though...and long..." She turned her head to look up at the older woman.
"Hehehe, thank you." The two girls giggled at each other, sporting big smiles.
Along with them, was Hiyori, who was quietly soaking some water into a rag to clean out Zoro's body as he slept from his battle with King. Robin, who was playing with Otoko while she sat on her lap and Yamato, who sat crossed leg in front of Nami and Otama. The only other person was an incapacitated Luffy, who was softly snoring away, recovering from his fight with Kaido. Yamato felt anxious. Luffy still hasn't woken up yet and it didn't help the problem Yamato had, which was not eating or taking a bath until he woke up.
"Are you sure you're okay, Yamato?" Nami asked, noticing Yamato's body movements.
"Ah, I'm fine..." A grumble came from Yamato's stomach. "Damn it!" Yamato growled and punched their stomach. "I will not eat or bathe until Luffy wakes up!" Yamato declared proudly. Nami gave Yamato a soft smile and turned back to brushing Otama's hair.
"Will big bro wake up soon?" Otama asked, turning her head to Luffy.
"It's only a matter of time." Nami answered, turning her head as well. She looked at her Captain with a warm smile as he snoozed away softly in his futon.
"It was a tough fight. I'm sure both of them will wake up soon." Robin added as Otoko looked at the black haired girl with a wide grin.
"Ee. All we can do is wait." Hiyori smiled as she wiped a towel over Zoro's body.
Everyone in the room smiled in agreement. Even Yamato accepted that. Yamato was not going to give up the vigil until Luffy and Zoro both woke up.
Then the room was hit with a bomb of a question, delivered from one of the younger members in the room. "Nami-chan, do you like big bro?"
The orange haired navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates whipped her head so fast towards the younger girl, it looked like she almost strained he rneck while doing so. Her face was filled with total shock as a small blush on her face appeared. "Huh?"
"Do you like big bro?" She repeated the question as all eyes turned to her. She never felt so many eyes on her. They felt like they were watching every single movement of her muscles, looking for an answer to the question. Nami never felt so embarrassed at a question before and it only made it worse with everyone's eyes on her.
"W-Why would you ask me that?" Nami stuttered slightly. "I mean, of course I like him, he's my Captain and friend. If I didn't, I wouldn't be part of his crew." Otama stared at her.
"Do you 'like' like him?" She asked again as Nami's blush grew a deeper shade of red. She turned to Robin to help get out of this situation, but the older woman only smiled at her.
"Hehehe, I would like to know the answer to that question as well." Robin chuckled, leaving Nami completely betrayed.
"Oh my, I didn't know you had such feelings. I'm jealous~" Hiyori blushed at the concept of love.
"W-Wait a minute!" Nami exclaimed turning to her.
"Oh~ Really? That's amazing!" Yamato joined in on the frenzy. "I can understand why! Luffy is an amazing guy!"
Nami couldn't believe the pressure she was feeling from everyone except from Otoko, who looked around the room with the usual wide grin that she suffered from the Smiles Fruit. Nami's eyes spun around from the embarrassment she felt. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. Why did she even asked that question? What made her even bring it up?
"L-L-Listen...I...w-why would you even ask me something like that?" Nami asked the Wano native.
"Because you were so cool telling Kaido that big bro didn't die. I thought it was because you really liked him." She grinned innocently, which did not help Nami at all. She really had a soft heart for children. She tried to find anyway out of this situation. She even tried pleading with Robin through facial expressions. However, Robin was enjoying this a lot.
"Oh my, I didn't know you stood up to Kaido for Luffy's sake. How impressive." Nami cursed her fellow crew mate mentally. "I also heard from Usopp that you were so brave when you refused to say that Luffy wouldn't become Pirate King, hehehe~"
'I'm gonna kill him!' Nami cursed the long nosed Sniper of the crew.
"Oh my, how splendid~" Hiyori's face got slightly red at the imagery of Nami defending Luffy.
Nami was losing this fight and she felt her face heat up more and more with every passing second. This was becoming unbearable. The room almost felt like it was spinning. She lowered her head, her eyes covered by her bangs. She could feel the presence of the others get closer to her, waiting for her answer.
"Mou...you guys are being such bullies..." Nami groaned. None of them said anything as they watched and waited patiently for her to respond. Then, after taking a deep breath, she softly nodded. Otama and Yamato's eyes lit up at the confirmation. Robin chuckled softly to herself as she had a feeling that was the case. Hiyori placed her hands on her face and squealed softly. Otoko grinned and ran over to Nami.
"Wow! That's awesome! Hahahaha!" She replied as Nami buried her flushed face in her hands.
"I knew it, Nami-chan!" Otama exclaimed with a wide grin and sparkled eyes.
"This is amazing! It's just like Oden and Toki!" Nami felt her face get even more red as she remembered the story of Oden and Toki. She groaned and pushed her face deeper into her hands. Her ears turning super red at everyone's response.
"So, tell us? What did you like about Lu-" Yamato was cut off as Nami placed her hands over Yamato's mouth.
"B-Be quiet! " Nami shouted. "I don't want him or anyone else to hear something like that. I-I'm not ready for something like that..." She turned her head slightly over to Luffy, who continued to snore away.
"My, how cute..." Robin said.
"Stop it!" Nami screamed at her, but there was no malice behind her words.
"Hey, Nami-chan! When did it start!?" Otama asked, tugging on Nami's kimono.
"Please stop! I don't want to say! He's right here, you know!" She pointed toward the unconscious Luffy.
"I'm sure he won't hear it, besides it's just a little small talk." Robin giggled once again.
"Yeah, yeah! Tell us!" Otoko egged her on as well.
"I too would like to hear it. I heard so many stories about the love my father and mother had and I just love hearing about other love stories." Hiyori scooted over to the group, urging her to continue.
"Would you stop calling it that!?" Nami truly never felt so embarrassed. "Besides, how is it small talk!?" She retorted at Robin. "This is embarrassing!" She wanted to avert the discussion off of her and she looked over at Hiyori and thought of a possible way out. "W-What about you, Hiyori? I saw how you looked at Zoro!" Hiyori blushed and placed her hands on her cheeks again.
"Oh, was it that obvious, hehehehe~" Hiyori bashfully giggled, not feeling embarrassed by her crush on Zoro. Nami couldn't believe it backfired. In fact she was kind of jealous how easily she accepted the idea of her having a crush on the swordsman. She had hoped the conversation would move towards her, but that clearly didn't seem like it was going to happen. All eyes were back on her and she felt the heat on her skin rise again.
"Looks like you can't escape this Nami." Robin giggled as she saw her friend backed to a corner with the conversation. Nami was appalled that Robin was not on her side, but she would be lying if she said she wouldn't be doing the same if the roles were reversed.
She knew, she had no way out and sat there, clenching her kimono with her hands. Her face still red as she pondered her thoughts.
"I...I don't know...I...really don't..." She admitted, her voice was quiet, but enough for them to hear. "Luffy is...very special to me...to all of us...he has helped us so much...I...I really don't know when I started feeling this way..." They all looked at her with warm smiles. "Maybe when he saved me from Arlong...maybe after what happened with Ace and how I wanted to be there for him..." Otama frowned softly at the mention of Ace. "I really don't know...I just know that I'm constantly worrying about that idiot...and...I guess maybe I might have always liked him...I guess...I just fell in love at some point too..."
Robin's eyes softened at the girl. She had suspicion of Nami's possible feelings for Luffy, but didn't ask or question her about it. She wanted her to come forward about it when she was ready.
"Hnnng...that's so beautiful..." Yamato cried at the way Nami described her feelings.
"So magnificent! Nami-san, you look very radiating right now~" Hiyori complimented which only made Nami blush harder.
"Stop it..." This truly was the most embarrassing moment of her life. She was so glad Luffy was knocked out cold or otherwise she might legit explode.
"Are you going to tell big bro?" Tama asked. Nami looked at the girl and felt flustered.
"Tell him!? N-No I can't I..." Nami lowered her head and clenched her kimono tighter. She paused for a moment before responding. "I...I can't..."
"Huh? Why not?" Tama asked, tilting her head.
'Why is she so adorable?' Nami commented on how cute Tama was. She sighed and took a look over at Luffy. He was still snoozing away and she softly smiled at him. "I can't because...I...I want him to focus on his dream...he wants to be the Pirate King. He needs to focus on that and me telling him how I feel would just be a distraction. I don't want him to be distracted while he is constantly out there, fighting stronger enemies to reach his goal. As long as I'm able to be next to him and help him achieve his goal...I'm really happy. After all, I'm his navigator. That's my role. Until the end of this journey, I want to keep my feelings hidden." She closed her eyes and had a warm smile on her face.
The others stared at her and felt a great amount of respect building up for the orange haired girl. She was willing to hold on to her feelings, no matter how painful it was, just for Luffy's dream. None of them could imagine just how strong that made her. It was tough holding back strong emotions like that, even if some never had the chance to experience it themselves. She truly was strong.
"That's so beautiful, Nami-san!" Hiyori clasped her hands in front of her mouth as tears build up in her eyes. Nami giggled, but felt embarrassed for the praise.
"My respect for you has grown immensely, Nami! You really are the embodiment of Toki-sama!" Nami blushed, but waved her off.
"No, I can never compare to her." Hiyori shook her head.
"No, Nami-san. I only have known you for a little while, but I truly see my mother in you. A strong woman who deserves respect and love from everyone, including from the one you have feelings for. It takes someone strong to hold back their feelings like this, all just to honor your loved ones dreams and ambitions first." Hiyori placed a hand on her shoulder. Nami's eyes widened softly at the woman's praise. She honestly felt incredibly flattered. Yes, it was a bit embarrassing to hear, but she was overwhelmed by the respect she earned from her.
"Hehehe, see Nami. Your feelings aren't wrong. It's admirable." Robin comforted her fellow crew mate.
"Admirable!" Otoko repeated with glee.
"Thank you...everyone!" Nami smiled, feeling some bottled up emotions rise in her chest.
"I can't wait to be a strong woman like you one day, Nami-chan!" Otama grinned. Nami's tears welled up more at her declaration and couldn't help but hug the girl.
"Thank you, Tama-chan!" Otama giggled as Nami's cheeks brushed up against hers.
"Hehehe~" The older girl let go and wiped the tears from her eyes. "But I do think big bro likes you too!" Nami was caught by surprise by this.
"Huh?" She blinked.
"Oh, really, Tama-chan, do tell us! What do you know?" Hiyori asked curiously.
"Just a feeling." She replied as the other girls only chuckled.
"Well, hopefully you're right, Tama-chan. However..." Nami looked over at Luffy. "...it's hard to tell with Luffy sometimes. In fact, I don't even know if he would understand at all if I told him."
"Well, Luffy tends to surprise us all the time, so who knows." Robin tried to reassure the girl in some way.
"I guess...I'm just not gonna hold my breath..." She sighed.
"I just know big bro will understand!" Nami giggled and gave her small head pats.
"I hope you're right!" Otama giggled.
"Well, you never know if you don't try, so hopefully when you're ready, you make it known. I'll be rooting for you, Nami-san." Hiyori told her.
"Thank you!" Nami smiled. "Just promise me you guys won't tell anyone, okay? Especially Luffy." Nami asked them and they nodded.
"Of course!" They responded. Nami smiled at them.
Robin giggled. 'Don't worry, Nami...I'm sure your feelings will one day get through...' She peeked over to the man who was the topic of the conversation. He was still snoring away in his futon. She giggled to herself as she found another thing to look forward to the future.
Yamato smiled and thought back to Oden's journal and how he put his feelings for Toki in it. Yamato could tell how much he loved Toki and how much Luffy sort of reminded Yamato of him. Yamato's stomach then grumbled. "Ughhh...hungry...but I will wait!"
Everyone looked at Yamato and laughed softly as the conversation eventually turned to even more small talk among them as Luffy and Zoro rested. However, this time, a smile crept on Luffy's face as he snored away, looking as if he was having a really good dream.
End