Chapter 76

Nostalgia

"I can't believe you're getting married."

"I know, it's crazy."

"Just the thought of you getting married would have made me laugh not so long ago!"

"Same. So much has happened since Arlong, it's like another life…"

Sitting on the edge of the beach facing the ocean, Nojiko and Nami watched the sea getting rougher because of the autumn wind which blew in gusts. The navigator's sister had arrived the evening before and after a warm welcome meal among the crew, the two young women enjoyed a moment of calm this morning to get together.

"Actually, I could have predicted it because as soon as you met them, you started to change," Nojiko continued, "The fact that you didn't stab them in the back in the first minute was a sign!"

"That was my plan in the beginning," Nami reminded her with a smile. "They were so gullible…"

"You were fooled in the end because here you are now, a wanted fugitive and soon to be married to one of the most powerful pirates of his generation!" Her sister laughed.

"The future Pirate King," the navigator said.

Nojiko nodded, gazing at the sea and looking thoughtful. "I remember that day when they showed up to pick you up. They believed in you and they were right. They were able to see beyond what you wanted to show us all."

"It took me a while to accept it but today, I am truly grateful to the fate that made me cross paths with Luffy," Nami agreed gently, "I was so lucky, Nojiko…"

Her sister smiled again. "We were all lucky. That straw hat boy saved us too that day."

Nami sighed, letting her gaze wander over the waves. "I wish Bell-mère were here. I'm sure she'd have loved Luffy…"

"That's for sure."

A quiet silence stretched between the two sisters until the navigator spoke again a few minutes later. "Are you still taking care of the tangerine orchards?"

"I sell them throughout the region and the profits have allowed to renovate most of the village," Nojiko said. "During the harvest, I even hire a few people to help me, we're getting increasingly popular!"

"I'm really happy to know that Bell-mère's tangerines are appreciated." The redhead smiled, "They have such a unique taste, I'm sure Sanji-kun would be interested in setting up a partnership to serve them on All Blue."

"Why not. The door is not that close but we could imagine something…"

"By the way, how is Genzo?" Her sister suddenly asked.

"Oh, you know him, he always liked to watch over the population and he hasn't changed. He resumed his functions as mayor and sheriff."

"I wanted to invite him too but All Blue is such a special place and the fact that I'm a pirate, I never really knew if he had accepted my choice," Nami admitted while biting her lips.

"He's proud of you, Nami," her sister reassured her. "He even put up a huge poster of your wanted poster in his office!" She told him with amusement.

"Really?"

"He pretends to get angry when he sees the crew's bounties increase but in reality, he parades around like a peacock showing everyone how important his little Nami has become!" Nojiko tilted her head to the side, still amused. "When I told him about your future marriage, he kept staring at your captain, grumbling that he was gonna kill him if he didn't make you the happiest in the world."

The redhead had a sweet smile at these words. "I miss him. I wish I could give you news more often but I'm afraid of getting you into trouble…"

"We're well aware that you need to be discreet," her sister assured her, "And then, we got news with the newspapers."

"The Marine never sought to harm you?"

"Once, an officer wanted to search the village. He thought that you had maybe returned to Cocoyasi. It was just after you fought that Warlord, Crocodile. The officers wanted us to think that it was thanks to the Marine but by reading the press releases from the royal family of Alabasta, we figured out it wasn't true!"

"What did he do?" Nami wanted to know, worried. Her sister shrugged. "He tried to scare us but clearly, he didn't know us. I told him that if my sister had chosen to embark on a pirate crew, it was not to come back and hide here at the slightest challenge. He didn't insist too much and he left."

The navigator sighed with relief. "That's my only fear," she admitted, closing her eyes and the wind blowing through her long red hair, "That my choices will harm you one day…"

"Don't worry about us, Nami. You have the right to decide your future, you deserve it. You've done so much for Cocoyasi over all these years that no one would think of blaming you for anything. Plus, we learned to defend ourselves!" Nojiko reminded her, "And you know that Bell-mère would never have accepted that one of us would give up what makes her happy. She was a woman of principles; we mustn't forget that."

Nami nodded, memories of her childhood suddenly filling her with emotion. "The map of the world that I told her about is growing," she murmured, her throat tight. "I'd have loved to show it to her…"

"I'm sure she'll see it, Nami. From where she is, I know she's watching us…"

"Guys!"

"It's Vivi!" Luffy jumped on the figurehead, waving broadly at the young woman who was walking on the beach, her face beaming. The wind was still blowing and it swelled her long pink dress with gold at the waist and arms, accentuating her figure.

It didn't take long for the princess to reach the Sunny and a few seconds later, all of its occupants pounced on her.

"It's been too long!"

"We missed you!"

"We waited for you to come every day!"

"I'm so happy you could come!" Nami hugged her friend tightly for several minutes before finally releasing her and Luffy stared at the princess, his eyes wide. "Where's Karoo? Didn't he come?"

"Unfortunately, Karoo is on mission with Koza," the young woman replied with an apologetic smile. "They both left more than a month ago and they still have several weeks left. It's a very delicate mission to convince residents to use new seeds that use less water for their crops."

"Koza, isn't that the guy who led the rebellion?" Usopp asked her.

"Yes, he's currently Minister of the Environment for the Kingdom of Alabasta. He also ensures that the damage caused by Crocodile is repaired at its fair value."

"You came alone then?" Chopper wondered.

"Oh, I wish I had, but Chakam insisted on accompanying me during my trip here." The young woman laughed, "I managed to make him promise to stay on Vorgo though. He knows that I can defend myself and around you, he's aware that I'm safe!"

"I wasn't sure that you'd agree to celebrate our wedding," Nami admitted, biting her lips, "I mean, we haven't seen you in years and you could have been busy with a lot of other things…"

"What are you talking about? How could I refuse such an invitation!" Vivi chastised her gently, "On the contrary, I was sincerely touched to know that you had thought of me for such an important event! And I missed you so much…"

At these words, Nami hugged her friend again with emotion and when they pulled away, both of the young women had tears in their eyes.

"I wasn't even sure I'd be able to see you again one day," the princess murmured, looking at all her friends. "Despite my decision, I cried so much when you left…"

"They haven't stopped crying too," Zoro remembered, pointing to Usopp, Luffy, Chopper and Nami. "It was pathetic."

"Obviously, we had just said goodbye to our dear friend!" The sniper choked, outraged. "It's not our fault if you don't have a heart!"

"That was so undignified," the navigator growled in turn.

The swordsman shrugged his shoulders. "I offered to kidnap her if you missed her too much," he reminded them.

"It's not okay to kidnap people!" Chopper pointed out, shocked.

"Vivi wanted to stay on her island; we had no choice," Luffy agreed with a sigh.

The princess suddenly burst out laughing. "You haven't changed at all and it makes me feel so good to hear you! I'm so happy! And I saw that the crew has grown!" She added, giving a bright look of excitement to the three crew members a little behind on the deck.

Brook decided to step forward to introduce himself then but Vivi beat him to it by bowing politely to him. "I am very honored to meet the musician of the Straw Hat Pirates. Luffy never stopped reminding us how essential this function is."

"I am completely stunned that such a charming princess took the trouble to know my service record!" The skeleton immediately rejoiced, flattered.

"Of course! I'm keeping all your wanted posters carefully and I couldn't wait to meet you all in person!"

"The pleasure is more than mutual, rest assured, my dear!" The musician replied, definitely under her spell.

"Nami and the others talked about you a lot," Franky agreed, approaching in turn.

Vivi's eyes lit up when she saw him. "Franky the cyborg, one of only two apprentices of the greatest shipwright in the world who built the Pirate King's ship himself!"

"How about that! How do you know?" Franky wondered, "I thought it was secret information!"

"Being a princess has some benefits," Vivi laughed. "That's why I was more than happy to find out that it was you who built the crew's new ship!"

"That's really nice of you!" The cyborg thanked her. "The Sunny's my baby and I take great care of her!"

Vivi grinned in return before noticing that the last crew member remained silent and a little aloof. She then took a step forward, a smile on her lips. "Nico Robin, the famous archaeologist and the last person in the world capable of deciphering the mysterious poneglyphs holding the secrets of the void century. I think we've never been properly introduced."

Robin remained still in front of her and Vivi's smile became softer.

"Although I once knew you as Miss All Sunday, I never doubted that you'd belong among my friends if Luffy had decided so. I attempted to infiltrate Crocodile's organization myself at some point."

"I never attempted to infiltrate his organization. On the contrary, I developed it and used it for personal purposes."

The young woman's voice was frank and it surprised the princess. The archaeologist took the opportunity to take a step in her direction. "I'm sorry for having caused harm to your population because at that time, I only pursued my own goal without consideration for others. I regret it but unfortunately, there's no going back. I am also willing to accept the consequences."

The crew froze at these words, stunned by the turn of events. After her own shock, Vivi placed a friendly hand on the arm of the young woman who had lowered her eyes.

"I'm sure that you've already redeemed your faults by sailing alongside Luffy and if he chose to trust you, I can only do the same. Accordingly, I forgave you long ago. You're a dear friend now, so please let's not let the past separate us any more than it already has. Just rest assured that I am sincerely happy to see you today."

Vivi bowed deeply to her then and Robin looked up, visibly moved. She bowed towards the princess in turn and Vivi beamed before turning to all her friends while Franky placed a soothing hand on the archaeologist's shoulder.

The princess looked around. "Isn't Sanji here? I heard he's been on the All Blue lately and there have been several articles about him."

"Sanji devotes himself wholeheartedly to his restaurant," Usopp agreed.

"He's up there with Nami's sister; he wanted to show her his kitchen while I'm not allowed to go!" Luffy told her, crossing his arms sulkily.

"He'll be delighted to see you!" Chopper assured the young princess.

She licked her lips in anticipation. "I missed his cooking so much!" She said with a nostalgic sigh, "The palace cooks are great but I've never eaten dishes as good as his…"

"There's no way he survives when he finds out!" Franky laughed.

"It's taking a long time," the redhead noticed while glancing at her watch. "More than an hour to show the All Blue to Nojiko… Luckily Malek is with them otherwise, I'd worry…"

"Oh, is that the new cook with you?" Vivi immediately asked. "I saw his wanted poster a little while ago in the newspaper!"

"He knows how to behave much better in the presence of women," Nami said. "But he's been spending so much time with Sanji-kun these days that I'm afraid it may rub off on him," she added with a sigh.

"I can't wait to meet him!" The princess got enthused.

"It's gonna be lunch time soon, it's better to tell them right away," the navigator agreed. "Zoro!"

"What?" The man grumbled.

"Tell Sanji-kun and Malek that Vivi has arrived, that should make them both come back. At the same time, you'll be able to meet my sister," she then said to her friend.

"I'm looking forward to it!"

"Why me?" The swordsman grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Because you were stupid earlier when you reminded us how obnoxious your behavior was when Vivi left. You'll redeem yourself this way."

Zoro rolled his eyes but quickly noticed that there would be no point in arguing as the navigator chased him away with her hand, already busy talking to Vivi about new subjects. Shrugging his shoulders, he headed towards the railing of the Sunny to reach the beach.

"Amy, you've been putting it off for three days already," Sanji pointed out to her, frowning.

"It's because, uh, I need a little more time," the waitress replied, embarrassed.

"I promise that you won't have to do anything. I'll take care of putting them in their place," the blond insisted.

The girl grimaced. For three days indeed, she had been asking the cook to postpone their visit to the Basterl market and if at first Sanji had easily agreed, thinking that his protégé needed to process the events, he was seriously starting to have questions now.

Next to him on the terrace of the All Blue, Liam observed them.

"How much time do you need?" The blond finally asked her.

"I don't know… Two or three days?"

"Why?" The cook repeated, clearly surprised. "Going there and back won't take us that long and the closer we get to the wedding date, the more things we'll have to do!"

"I-I know but it's because, uh… Actually, I'm working on a… p-project and… I think I'd like to go alone," Amy finally admitted, her eyes fixed on the ground.

Sanji dropped his half-burnt cigarette onto the ground. "Wh-What do you mean you wanna go alone? And what project are you talking about?!"

"I-I'm working on making new jewelry and that's why… I'd like to go alone," she repeated, her cheeks red.

"Since when?" The cook wanted to know, in disbelief.

"A few days…"

At a loss for words, Sanji looked up at Liam, who was also looking at the young waitress with surprise. "Amy, is this because of what Luffy said?"

Immediately, Sanji frowned. "What did that idiot say?"

"It's not because of Luffy!" The girl denied before biting her lips, "It's just… It made me think about some things…"

"What for example?" The blond asked suspiciously.

Amy shrugged awkwardly. "I don't know, just… I wanna sort this out myself…"

"But how?" Liam asked her. "Tell me you're not gonna fight these people!"

"What? No!" Amy exclaimed, her eyes wide. "I was thinking… keep going to the market to sell new jewelry? Nothing else," she admitted, slightly distraught.

"Sell new jewelry over there? I thought you didn't want to do it anymore," the scientist pointed out.

"Yeah, but in the end, I figured no matter what they say, if my jewelry is beautiful enough, people will come and buy it anyway. That's why I'm thinking about a new collection… It could work, right?"

Liam agreed, a wide smile on his lips. "You're absolutely right, Amy. And that's a great attitude!"

"But… are you gonna go alone?" Sanji chimed in, worried. "I mean, I'm glad you're not discouraged but I don't want you to take any unnecessary risks…"

"I can try to defend myself with what you taught me," Amy reminded him, hesitant. "It's true that I wasn't very good at it but…"

"I'll go with you at first," Liam decided. "I'll remain in remote observation and only if necessary, I'll intervene. What do you think?"

"Oh yes, please, Liam; I'd love to!" Amy agreed immediately.

The blond looked at his friends, visibly disconcerted, "But you don't want me to come with you?" He finally asked his protégé, disappointed.

The girl's cheeks turned pink again before she took a deep breath to look at the cook. "It's not that I don't want you to come with me, it's just that… I want to do it myself. I don't want you to have to take care of me all the time…"

"But I like taking care of you!" The blond assured her. He definitely didn't understand her attitude and Amy looked for help in the scientist's eyes. The man placed a reassuring hand on the cook's arm then. "Amy's growing up, she needs to do things for herself," he explained kindly. "She doesn't want you to worry about her all the time."

In disbelief, Sanji observed the red face of his waitress whose eyes were once again fixed on the ground. "Is that true, Amy?" He asked her. The girl nodded, her gaze still shifting, and Sanji sighed, defeated. "Okay, I'll let you do things your way with Liam then. But promise me that if anything happens, you'll tell me. I'm really counting on you."

"Promise, I promise!"

Amy jumped into his arms, deeply relieved, and Sanji looked at her wistfully. "It's hard to be torn between the desire to always keep you close and the desire to know that in this way, you'll become a woman as strong and independent as Nami-san and Robin-chan…"

Liam put his hand on the cook's back to comfort him sympathetically and his other hand caressed Amy's. The young girl shifted to include him in their embrace and pressed herself against them forcefully.

Zoro slowed his pace as he came in view of the restaurant, a strange feeling in his chest in front of the scene he was involuntary witness to. The cook was not with the navigator's sister as he might have thought, but he was no less busy: in each other's arms, the cook, the scientist and the waitress of the All Blue seemed to share a moment important enough that no one had heard him approach and Zoro wondered for a moment if his intervention was going to be welcome.

In the end, he shook his head. "Vivi's here."

If Sanji and Amy simply raised their heads at the sound of his voice, Liam jumped and hurried away from the other two when the swordsman joined them. Zoro glanced at him, puzzled, and the scientist started to blush.

"What did you say, mosshead?"

For his part, the cook didn't seem to have noticed anything, continuing to hold his waitress against him, and the swordsman forgot his previous questions.

"Vivi. She just arrived and Nami wants to introduce her to her sister."

"My princess is here!" The blond immediately swirled, lovesick. "I'm sure she's even more beautiful than I remembered and I'm gonna shower her with dishes, each more succulent than the last, to celebrate our reunion!"

"Vivi, is she the princess?" Amy asked, impressed.

"The most wonderful princess!" The cook assured her, totally under the spell. "An incomparable elegance and intelligence, a tactfulness that is matched only by that of-

-Yeah, yeah. Where's Nojiko?" Zoro cut him short, already tired of listening to him.

The cook instantly got serious again. "I left her with Malek because he was finishing his cocktails when Amy and Liam showed up… He better not get any ideas, that bastard! It's been over twenty minutes and the service is about to start!" He then realized.

Sanji abruptly turned on his heel to rush towards the kitchen and Amy followed him for her shift after giving a small, shy wave to the other two men.

Left alone, Zoro let his gaze rest on the scientist who had not opened his mouth and he saw him hurry away, still carefully avoiding his gaze.

"I-I need to check my alarms."

The swordsman followed him with his eyes while the dark-haired man hurried to disappear, skeptical. Liam seemed a little too uncomfortable to not be hiding something but Zoro hadn't noticed anything unusual and the other two had behaved as usual. Shrugging his shoulders, the fencer made his way back to the Sunny.

Answers are coming and in the next chapter, Zoro and Sanji will rack their brains to try to figure out what's happening to the swordsman…