Chapter 8: First Voyage

Sanji felt belligerent the next morning as he ate. He hadn't gotten Nami for breakfast, still angry over what had happened the night before. How could she not be grateful to him for stepping in to try to protect her? He had no obligation to do so. He could have taken his brothers' side…but he knew he wouldn't have been able to face himself in the mirror afterward if he had. He wanted to please his father, but he didn't want to be like his brothers.

Nami wandered in a moment later with Reiju. His sister must have gotten her for breakfast. He wasn't sure if he was ornery or relieved by that. On the one hand, he didn't want his bride to starve since it was his duty to look after her, but, on the other hand, she clearly didn't want him looking after her.

She wore only capris, sandals, and a tank top. It was perhaps the most dressed down anyone had ever been for a meal at the Vinsmoke's dining table. She still looked amazing. He quickly looked down at his food, unwilling to greet her. First, because she owed him an apology and he didn't want to talk to her again until she gave it. Second, because he was afraid he would compliment her on her looks.

"Good, you're here," Judge greeted. "You'll be leaving soon on your first mapping voyage."

"Why wasn't I told this?" Sanji asked, dropping his fork. "I have several meetings today I need to attend."

"Yes, you do," Judge agreed. "Which is why you won't be going. Ichiji and Niji will be leading the voyage."

Sanji was too stunned to say anything for a moment. The first words that popped into his head were, 'But she's my fiancé,' which Judge clearly knew, so stating the obvious wouldn't have helped with anything. But why was his father sending his bride off without him? And, worse, with the two brothers who were the most upset about how Nami treated them while being a nonroyal.

"But the wedding is only two weeks away," Sanji argued. "Is there really time for her to leave now?"

"The initial measurements for the wedding dress have already been taken," Judge brushed off. "Final fittings won't need to be done for nearly a week and they'll have returned by then. Niji and Ichiji have already been briefed on what path to take and when they will return."

Sanji made himself stay silent after that. Upsetting his father wouldn't help anything and he knew it would upset Judge if he tried to argue about his decision. The only consolation he had was that Ichiji and Niji wouldn't dare cause Nami much damage with the wedding so close, but they could still be cruel to her. He hated that thought. He knew very well first-hand how awful they could be.

~.~

"We should turn here to avoid that oncoming storm," Nami recommended. It was the third day of their voyage and she'd done nothing but chart the area, but when she looked up and saw the threatening clouds in the distance, she hadn't been able to stay silent.

Ichiji turned to look at the green storm clouds. "That's part of the path Father wants us take. We need to go that way."

"I didn't say we should avoid it," she said, keeping her tone even. She wasn't used to having her navigational directions questioned. Everyone in Arlong's crew new she was the best navigator and obeyed all her directions immediately. Arlong had once thrown someone overboard for going against her directions. He'd been fine since he was a fish-man, but he'd had to swim all the way back to Arlong Park. "I said we should turn here and then we would circle around. By the time we reached that area, the worst of the storm will have passed."

Ichiji was quiet for a moment as he studied the storm clouds, then shook his head. "You are here to draw maps, not give orders. It will be fine."

Nami shrugged. "Fine. Do whatever you want." She went back to the table she was using. The Germa Kingdom had base maps of North Blue, but she was improving upon what they had. At least she had state of the art equipment to work with. She had been nervous being sent off with the brother who'd tried to beat her up to prove a point and the brother who had restrained Sanji so he couldn't interfere, but nothing had happened yet. Hopefully, her luck would hold out.

~.~

It only took a few hours for the storm to come upon them. Nami and her materials were moved inside to protect the maps from the storm. They were of a high-quality material that could withstand the rain, but there was a danger of them blowing away.

She looked out the window again to see the crew struggling with the sails and shook her head. They were heading in the wrong direction. They would never escape the storm this way. They would get pulled along with it for who knew how long. However, Ichiji had already shown how little he was willing to listen to her advice.

A man holding onto one of the ropes was almost thrown overboard when the rope was ripped out of his hand, but Niji caught him and threw him back to where he'd been.

She bit her lip. She didn't want to wind up lost because Ichiji was too stupid to listen to sense. Maybe Niji would be more willing to listen. She had the feeling that wasn't likely, but she at least wanted to try. The storm was getting worse and it would be a long time before it stopped. With the strength of the storm and their position, they could be blown half way to South Blue before the storm abated enough for them to gain control if they didn't change their current course.

Mind made up, she stomped outside. Immediately, she was soaked. The rain felt like a thousand needles jabbing her. "Niji!" She yelled, holding onto the side of the cabin to keep her balance as the ship swayed from side to side. "Niji!"

She gave a frustrated growl as she moved closer. Niji wouldn't be able to hear her over the wind unless she was right next to him.

"Niji!" She yelled once she was a few feet away. The ship rocked just as she removed her hand from the cabin wall, making her stumble. She caught herself on the nearest available surface, which happened to be Niji's chest.

"What are you doing out here?" He demanded, grabbing her arms and yelling to be heard over the wind.

"Hoping you'll be smart enough to listen to me this time so we can get out of this storm!" She yelled back. "Hopefully before pieces of the ship start breaking off." Just as she said that, a loud tearing sound was heard. One of the sails had just ripped. Thankfully, not the one connected to the main mast. "You see?" She said, freeing one hand to point at the sail, part of which was now freely flapping in the wind. "We're at the wrong angle to weather a storm like this."

"What do you mean listen to you this time?"

"I told Ichiji hours ago that we needed to change our course, or would be trapped in this storm. He assured me it would be fine, but he's clearly not the navigational expert in the family. We need to turn to starboard and head west if we want to get out of this storm. Otherwise, we're going to stay caught in this storm for several hours."

"What is she doing out here?" Ichiji demanded, joining them.

"Trying to talk some sense into this crew before we get into even more danger," Nami yelled. Though Ichiji was close by, it was difficult to see him through the heavy rain.

"I told you you're here to draw maps!" Ichiji yelled. "What we do beyond that is none of your concern!"

"It is if it's putting my life at risk! If I was some run of the mill navigator, your father never would have demanded I be joined to your family by marriage. If your father thinks so highly of my skills, why don't you try listening to me and see what happens?"

"Nothing else we've been doing is working," Niji yelled to Ichiji. "Why not try it? It can't put us in a worse situation than we're already in." Without waiting for a response, Niji let go of Nami and left, yelling orders to the crew matching Nami's instructions.

She noticed that Niji had an easier time moving around the deck than anyone else. Those genetic modifications really did make the Vinsmokes different. She was once again glad Ichiji hadn't been able to lay a hand on her during their fight until she saw the aggravated look on his face. Just because he hadn't hit her then didn't mean who wouldn't now. Or later.

"I'm the best navigator in all of East Blue!" She yelled. "This is what I do. If all a navigator can do is draw maps and lead you around in calm weather, they're not very useful! Especially in the New World." She was grateful she'd gone on enough trips with Arlong's crew through the Grandline and New World to know how volatile the weather could be compared to other areas. "If you can't trust the word of your navigator in a storm, you need a different navigator."

Before Ichiji could respond, the ship rocked wildly as it began changing directions. She slipped on the wet deck, sliding toward the railing of the ship. Ichiji, who'd been much closer to the railing, was lifted off his feet. It almost looked like slow motion as he knocked into the railing before flipping over the side. She screamed as she lunged, holding onto the railing with one arm as the other reached for Ichiji.

He was already below the railing and she barely managed to grab onto his hand. Her heart jumped into hear throat as she realized how close she was to clearing the railing herself. If she had to move one more inch over, she was dropping his hand.

Before it became an issue, Ichiji gripped her hand and deftly hauled himself up until he could reach the railing and pull himself over. Still keeping hold of Nami's hand, he tossed her toward the cabin. "Get back inside!"

"You're welcome!" She snarled at him, clenching her fists.

He glared down at her, having lost his sunglasses in the fall. What kind of a person wore sunglasses during such a dark storm? "I'm wearing my raid suit, which can fly. I would have been perfectly fine without your help."

Nami flushed. These Vinsmokes thought of everything between their technology and their modifications, didn't they? "Fine. Next time, I'll let you save yourself." She whirled around, almost slipping again as she did so and carefully made her way back to the cabin.

~.~

The ship was sailing more smoothly by the time Niji came into the cabin. They were still within the storm's grasp, but out of the worst of it. Nami was standing by the window watching the waves rather than working on maps. She was still soaked and didn't want to risk smearing ink. If she messed up any of the maps, she'd have to do them again. Judge had made it clear he wanted all his maps of North Blue to be perfect.

She waited, but Niji didn't say anything. "What?" She finally asked. "Is something wrong?"

He took a few steps toward her, then his eyes seemed to catch on something below her face. She looked down to see that her wet shirt was plastered against her chest. Scowling, she crossed her arms over her chest. "Is there something you needed?" She demanded.

"You were right," he said, stating the obvious. "Our navigator couldn't get us out of the storm, nor was he able to avoid it. You would have had us avoid it from the beginning and easily got us out of it."

He was only a couple steps away from her now. "You're able to fight with technology that even the Vinsmokes have never seen, and do it well enough to hold off one of the princes of the Vinsmoke family. You navigate better than the finest navigator of the Germa Kingdom." He smirked as he looked her up and down. "And you're more gorgeous than any princess I've ever met." He leaned closer until Nami could see herself reflect in his blue sunglasses. "You just might be the only woman of non-royal blood worthy of the Vinsmoke family."

"Uh, thanks?" Did that meant he wouldn't support her being attacked again? "I guess you must be very happy for your brother not having to marry an unworthy commoner."

Niji's face twitched and she wondered if she'd offended him. She really needed to get better control of her tongue around these people. It was easy around Arlong's crew because her village and island were in direct danger if she did anything there. Additionally, at least there was a reason behind the fish-man claiming they were better than others. It wasn't a valid reason, but they were stronger and faster than humans and could breathe under water as they liked to brag. The Vinsmokes somehow thought their blood was different just because they were royalty.

Niji muttered something under his breath that sounded like "we'll see" before turning on his heel and leaving the cabin. Nami frowned, wondering if she'd misheard him. What on earth would have been saying 'we'll see' about?