Chapter I: The Hat
Nami hates it whenever Luffy loses his straw hat, which happens about half the time he has it on.
She frowns just thinking about it.
To be fair, it's not like Luffy ever misplaces it on his own. No, that hat was far too precious for him to just leave lying around somewhere and forgetting where he put it.
He loses it during the chaos of their adventures and epic battles (unfortunately, when are they ever not in the midst of chaos?) and his hat is probably the last of his worries when he's off facing the big wigs of the World Government, fighting the most dangerous pirates across the seas, and saving a whole-ass country.
So yes, Nami could probably give him a pass on this one.
But what she does hate is how upset and worried he gets whenever he loses it and it's nowhere to be found.
Most days, they find it near the vicinity where Luffy had been fighting the sucker who thinks they can beat him.
But a few times—when the strong winds pick up during battle or Luffy gets sent flying through the air with an enemy attack— it does take more than a few hours to locate the hat.
On one occasion, it took them three days to find it.
"My haaat. My hat's gone." Luffy moped in desperation, lying face first in the sand and burying his head in it.
The entire crew had been tirelessly searching the whole island for 3 days, even getting the help of the locals they befriended, but the search yielded no results.
Nami patted the captain on the back to comfort him, the latter moaning in sadness.
"Look, Luffy. We know how much that hat means to you and we'd be more than willing to keep searching" Nami sighed and continued, "but a fleet of navy ships is already headed this way, maybe even an admiral with them. I don't think we're in a condition to fight right now and we've already overstayed our welcome."
It was true, they were in no state to fight, after having just battled a powerful pirate crew called, "The Crimson Pirates".
It took everything out of Luffy to defeat the Crimson Pirates' captain, the notorious Thorne "Blood Bath" Vane, who had the powers of the Blood Blood fruit, giving him the ability to control, manipulate and become blood.
It was literally a blood bath everywhere. Nami shuddered in disgust just thinking about it.
Sanji lit his cigarette, turning his head to the vast ocean and releasing a puff of smoke.
"Nami-san's right. I'd never pass up the chance to beat the crap out of some shitty marines, but we need to choose our battles right now. We'll need to leave soon."
The rest of the crew glanced at each other in silent agreement.
Luffy stayed quiet for several seconds and after a beat, "Yeah, you're right."
The crew looked at him in surprise, expecting Luffy to protest and claim he could still fight despite recently coming out of a day-and-a-half coma.
He pushed himself off of the sand and turned to look at each of his crew for a moment. Suddenly, he grinned, as though he wasn't just hugging the sand in misery a few seconds ago. "Better the hat than lose any of you. I'm sure Shanks will understand."
The crew couldn't help but smile at his remark, albeit with a hint of sadness. Everyone knows how much the hat meant to him, but it was too risky to stay any longer.
As they headed for the Sunny, Franky scratched his chin in thought. "So, without the captain's suuuuper straw hat, would we still be the Straw Hat pirates?"
Chopper thought for a moment and excitedly clapped his hooves, "Oh! Maybe we can just get Luffy a new straw hat?!"
"Oh, Chopper, my simple-minded friend" Ussop snickered matter-of-factly and shook his head, "Don't you realize? This is just the opportunity we need to get Luffy a new look and for the crew to get a rebrand! After all, we're facing tougher and tougher enemies by the second. We need a new look that screams we're strong and powerful pirates! Fear us!"
Chopper looked at Usopp with wide-eyed amazement and nodded eagerly, "You're right, Usopp. You're so smart!"
Usopp put an arm on Luffy's shoulder and flashed a bright smile as that of a smooth salesman, "Now, Luffy, ever thought about wearing a sun hat?"
Sanji whacked Usopp hard in the head. "Oi, you idiot! You really think a sun hat screams we're strong and powerful pirates?"
Zoro snarled, "No way in hell am I joining a pirate crew called the Sun Hat pirates!"
Robin softly chuckled, imagining Luffy in a big, floppy sun hat and tending to the Sunny's garden.
Brook happily interjected, "I heard from Usopp-san that our dear captain once sported an afro much like mine. Perhaps it is time for a comeback? Luffy-san and I can be afro buddies! Yo ho ho ho!"
Usopp, Chopper, Franky and even Luffy's eyes twinkled at the mention of the afro, chattering loudly in approval.
Nami groaned and rolled her eyes at the ridiculous conversation her blockhead crewmates were having.
As much as she wanted to thump their heads together, she stayed quiet.
There was a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach that she couldn't shake off.
"Hey, guys!"
Everyone turned to look at Nami. "You all go on ahead. I just remembered, I need to get the new log pose from Kira. It'll only take a sec!"
In the battle against the Crimson Pirates, Nami's log pose broke after one of the pirates used devil fruit powers to produce a powerful banshee scream, shattering the delicate glass orb on Nami's wrist and all the windows in the nearby vicinity.
Kira, one of the locals of Pearl Peninsula, promised to give Nami a new log pose in gratitude after the navigator rescued the former's 8-year-old son during the battle.
"You want me to go with you, Nami-swan?" asked Sanji sweetly, hearts forming in his eyes.
"No need, Sanji-kun. You should all just rest and wait on the ship considering the injuries you have. I can go by myself."
Sanji twirled like a school boy in love, "Nami-swan cares about me!"
As Nami turned to leave, Luffy grabbed her by the wrist with a worried look. "You sure you're okay going alone?"
Nami rolled her eyes playfully at his concern, "Yes, Luffy. I'll be back before you know it!"
He looked at her for a second and grinned, knowing fully well she can handle herself. "Alright, just hurry up. Don't get into any trouble!"
Nami smirked at him in amusement. "Should you really be the one saying that to me?"
Luffy snickered, she got him there. "Shishishi! Guess not."
As Nami ran back to town, she reached in her shorts and grabbed the new log pose she was supposedly getting, fastening it on her wrist.
So maybe she lied a little to her crew and already had the new log pose with her… but she needed to make sure of something.
She wandered the town aimlessly for a few minutes, not really sure where she should go. Almost all of the townsfolk were still busy cleaning up the messes from the wake of the battle when a sweet old woman approached her, "You're one of the Straw Hat pirates, aren't you, dear? I just want to thank you all again for saving Pearl Peninsula. We will forever be in your gratitude."
Nami beamed warmly at her when the old woman's hat caught her eye.
A sun hat.
Oh, the irony.
"I'm just sorry we couldn't help you find your captain's straw hat. It really is a shame. But if there's anything else we can do for you, don't hesitate to ask, okay?" continued the woman.
"Funny you should say that…" Without knowing what she's asking or doing, Nami innocently asked, "Is it okay if I borrow your hat?"
Tying her bright orange hair in a bun and wearing the big, floppy sun hat the old woman gladly gave her without question, Nami hoped she would be more inconspicuous during her search.
Why, you ask? Nami wasn't sure herself.
But something in her gut told her she would need to be stealthy for this. And like the cat burglar she was, stealth was her specialty.
As she walked and looked around some more, she noticed two men, one with a mustache and one with curly hair, acting suspiciously and nervously glancing around with shifty eyes.
Nami ducked her head and tried to blend amongst a walking crowd, trying to get close to them within earshot without being seen.
"So?" urged Mustache to Curly.
"They're heading back to their ship. Looks like they've given up searching." whispered Curly.
"Good."
Nami sneakily glanced at the corner of the newspaper she's holding to see the two men head into a small alley.
At the end of the alley, Mustache and Curly opened the door of a seemingly abandoned bookstore. The door swung open, revealing a secret entrance to a hidden bar.
"Phew. I thought they'd never leave, Boss! You're a genius, the whole townspeople and that moronic crew really believed the marines were coming out here!" exclaimed Curly, taking a swig of beer.
"Straw Hat may be strong, but he sure as hell ain't smart!" answered Mustache with a boisterous laugh. "But I gotta thank him though. This straw hat of his is gonna make us filthy rich!"
"I wonder how much it'll sell in the black market?"
Mustache smirked at his friend, twirling Luffy's missing straw hat with his finger.
"This baby can sell for 20,000,000 berries. Maybe more."
Curly's eyes widened in shock and he laughed in amazement. "Now we really have to drink in honor of Straw Hat boy!"
Mustache raised his glass in agreement, with Curly following suit.
"A toast… to Straw Hat and his stupidity!"
"Hear hear!"
As the two clinked their glasses with obnoxious laughter, Mustache raised the hat to place it on his head.
Out of nowhere, a shiny object flies straight towards Mustache's head.
THUD!
"What the hell was that?!"
Mustache and Curly's mouth gaped open in utter shock. The straw hat was pierced and lodged firmly to the wall above Mustache's head with a sharp, gleaming dagger.
A pair of heels clacked against the wooden floor and they turned towards the entrance.
"Well, I gotta hand it to you boys, it was a valiant effort trying to steal my captain's hat. Hat's off to you…"
All eyes turn to the woman sashaying slowly towards the two men, half her face covered by the sun hat, only a smirk seen on her face.
"Unfortunately for you, game recognize game. And I definitely know a thief when I see one." she takes off the sun hat and hair tie, revealing her bright orange hair and a devious look in her eye.
It takes a minute for the men to recover from the shock and once they do, they stand up and snigger mockingly.
"The rest of your crew is already on the ship and you're all alone out here, girly. You really think you can take us?" taunted Curly, pulling the knife piercing the straw hat on the wall and twirling it in his hand.
Mustache, amused at the confidence displayed by the orange-haired navigator, cocked his gun and looked at Nami with a menacing smile,
"Before you can run off to your idiot captain, we'll just have to make sure you won't leave this place alive."
"Oh, don't worry. Luffy doesn't need to waste his time on this one…"
Nami pulled out her Clima-tact in one swift movement and smiled sweetly at the men with a gleam in her eye,
"After all, it takes a thief to catch a thief."
A piercing roar echoed throughout the island.
Back at the Sunny, Brook peered in the distance, "What's that noise?". He could've sworn there was a flash of light in the distance and the very faint sound of screams.
"A storm's probably coming." commented Robin, eyes trained on her book.
"We need to get a move on. Where the heck is Nee-chan?" wondered Franky, causing the others to worry as well.
After several minutes, Nami appeared just as Luffy, Sanji, and Chopper were about to go look for her.
"Sorry, sorry! Got lost trying to find Kira's bar. I'm here!" she shouted, running towards the ship.
Zoro closed his eyes to resume his nap and muttered to himself, "And they say I'm the one who's bad at directions."
As Nami boarded the ship, she fished inside her backpack, "On the plus side…"
"EH? MY HAT!"
Nami tosses the hat to Luffy who quickly catches it with delight. He laughed joyfully in relief, hugging his hat.
"I thought it was gone for good! How'd you find it, Nami?" he asked, grabbing Chopper and Usopp as the three danced around in circles in celebration.
Nami opened her mouth to tell them about the thieves, but opted against it, not wanting the crew to make a big deal of it.
"Oh, just one of the locals saw it stuck to some tree. They handed it to me when they saw me in town." she explained with a dismissive wave and a small smile.
While Nami did mention that the arrival of the marines was a false alarm (without delving into too much details why she knew that), everyone agreed it was time to leave anyway.
She glanced at her log pose quickly and looked up at the crew, going into full navigator mode. "Sanji, raise the anchor! Usopp, set the main! Franky, turn 45° to starboard! Time to leave!"
As Nami barked orders, she suddenly found herself enveloped in a warm embrace by muscular arms. Her cheeks began to color as Luffy hugged her tightly from behind for several long seconds, his cheek flued to hers.
"Thanks, Nami. You're the best!"
She ignored the goosebumps on the back of her neck as Luffy's breath brushed her neck. "I'm happy that my hat is back, but sad I wouldn't get to wear the afro now!" he mused with a pout.
Nami chuckled and relaxed in the hug. "You're an idiot. Now, give me the hat first so I could fix it."
And so, during their chaotic adventures or big battles, it now became a habit of Luffy to give Nami his straw hat for safekeeping.
Despite Nami adding a new chin strap to keep the hat secure on his head, Nami still finds herself donning the infamous straw hat as though she was its owner, giving birth to Robin's new nickname for Nami: Miss Straw Hat.
"Oi, do I look like a hat rack to you? I added the chin strap so you could wear it!" protested Nami as Luffy plopped his straw hat on her head yet again, preparing to launch himself on a nearby Navy ship during an attack.
He patted the hat on her head with pressure despite Nami's scowl, "'Cos it's safer with you! Plus..." Luffy gave her a cheeky grin, "It smells nice after you wear it."
Before Nami could respond, Luffy stretches his arm forward to grab the Navy ship's railing.
He turned quickly towards her with the same cheeky grin, "Keep it safe! Shishishi!" and launches himself at the ship.
Nami ignored the heat to her cheeks and simply shook her head, seeing a laughing Luffy in the distance and marines being flung off the ship.
Luffy always kept her safe.
She supposed she could keep the straw hat safe in return.
Robin approached Nami with a small knowing smile, "I see Miss Straw Hat makes an appearance again."
Nami could only roll her eyes, biting back a smile. "Don't start, Robin."
Yup, Nami really hates when Luffy loses his hat.
I've just recently stumbled into the world of One Piece and fell into the LuNami rabbit hole. I thank Oda for these characters and for inspiring me to write again after such a long time!
Would love to know your thoughts, reviews and favorites/follows are highly appreciated!
