"I killed them," the swordsman's voice echoed from his seat on the windowsill. He was wearing the new shirt Merry had given him. One of the butler's "more casual" garments, as he himself put it. It was just another one of his white button-down shirts... Zoro wore it with the top four buttons undone, and oddly enough, it tucked into his haramaki. "Explaining things to Kaya was difficult..." he said, glancing at the girl. He wasn't terribly upset, but he didn't like that Kaya had lost someone important. Even though he tried to kill them, "it didn't help that we don't know what happened."
Nami snatched the glass from Luffy and took a small sip before starting. "I was just having a nightmare," she said. That's how it all started. The content of that dream flooded her mind, and she frowned. It always came back to Arlong. It was always his fault. Everything was his fault. Nami took another sip of water and pushed the disturbing thoughts from her mind to continue: "I got out of bed to get some water, and on my way to the bathroom, I saw Kuro sharpening something in his room."
The red-haired girl recalled the moment and still couldn't understand how the butler had gotten behind her so quickly. Without making a sound. "He suddenly appeared behind me and led me to the place where they found me," her eyes stinged at the thought of what had almost happened in the clearing. She sobbed, wiping away her tears, and continued, "He told me he was a pirate. That he was going to kill Kaya and take her inheritance."
Usopp gritted his teeth, but didn't interrupt. The butler was dead, and he couldn't hurt him anymore.
After that, everything fell apart. He started cutting everything off, and honestly... I don't even know how I'm still alive... It's all a bit confusing. —Nami said, remembering. She remembered that she didn't want to die. Not so much. And the rain. The rain had felt so... clear... like it had helped her. She had always been in tune with the weather, but that night... It almost felt like a dream.
"And what about lightning?" Usopp asked. When they reached the clearing, she stood there as if she knew where it would strike.
The girl finished her water and took a long swig as she went to put it on the nightstand. She found Luffy and Zoro passed out in their seats on the floor. "Idiots," she sighed to herself.
However, Nami couldn't help but smile either. They were idiots... But they had saved her... Again. At least she could recognize something in them. Not much... But a little probably wouldn't hurt. She looked at Usopp to answer his question: "The truth is, I don't know... I think I was almost dead at that point." She didn't remember much; the blood loss had blurred many things toward the end. She only remembered vague feelings and a desire to live... Then, acceptance.
The orange shook her head. It was all in the past, and she wanted to look to the future. She wanted to use the life she had to forge the future she desired, not someone else's. She wanted to free her village from Arlong. And she would, soon. She was getting closer to that goal. Just a little more. Maybe a year. Maybe less. In the grand scheme of her life, it was nothing. And if it turned out she couldn't do it alone...
Nami looked at the two drooling boys on the ground and frowned, shaking her head to herself. They had said they were going to be pirates... Just like him... So why couldn't she superimpose Arlong's face onto theirs like she did with Kuro? Why did they look so different? Maybe...
The girl shook her head again, this time exasperated. They were so... strange. Anyway, she was going to be with them for a while longer, and if they really were going to be pirates, they'd eventually show their true colors. She was sure of it. But until then... maybe it wouldn't hurt to relax a little? They'd already saved her twice. And they were strong. Incredibly strong. She didn't know how Zoro had killed Kuro, but he hadn't stood a chance. Nor did she think the swordsman was in so much trouble. He didn't seem that badly injured.
Usopp cleared his throat, startling Nami as she looked up from the boys. She blushed... Had she been staring at them for that long?
"Well... I guess now we know why he was trying to kill everyone, at least..." the long-nosed boy remarked awkwardly. He fiddled with his thumbs. "Zoro... took care of him... If you wanted to know."
The orange drop of sweat, "I guessed it... By the way, he said it...".
"It was truly horrible..." Usopp said, "I opened my eyes... and... bam!... dead body."
"Usopp…".
"I couldn't take my eyes off them. Both of their halves lay there," the boy continued, staring dramatically at the table.
"Usopp…".
"You know what? It's funny," she ignored. The boy, his eyes closed, oblivious to the growing anger on Nami's face. "To cope, I spent the time you were unconscious turning my trauma into a story I could tell others to cheer them up, instead of the absolute, real terror I felt that night." He placed his hand on his chest and looked up at the sky. "His name was... Hunter Butler Zoro."
Nami got out of bed, ignoring the throbbing pain in her skin. She couldn't bear the insult. No one was forcing her to repeat it three times... She stepped over the two sleeping boys who still confused her and slowly made her way to the table.
"After discovering that Khlahadore was actually a pirate, I think a better version might be..." Usopp dramatically stood up from his seat and theatrically spread his hands at his sides, "PIRATE HUNTER-".
"DON'T YOU DARE IGNORE ME, PINOCCHIO."
Usopp opened his eyes and almost peed his pants.
Nami's orange hair was ablaze, and her face was shadowed as she glared at the long-nosed boy. She reached out and grabbed his nose, lifting him up to her eyes. "Get out!"
The girl let go of him, and Usopp quickly stepped back, clutching his crooked nose and staring at his brown jumpsuit... He was safe... but only just. He let go of his nose to get a better look and groaned. Why did it always have to be his nose? It was a low blow! He turned to strike Nami back, but froze, his face turning visibly pale.
At that moment, he knew one thing for sure... He would have relived seeing Khlahadore sliced in half instead of what he was seeing at that moment, any day of the week. For some reason, something deep in his soul superimposed the image of a mummy with flaming orange hair onto Nami's figure. And it scared him. It scared him so much that his bladder churned as he stood up and ran out of the room as fast as humanly possible.
Nami's anger subsided when Usopp left the room and turned to go back to bed. He wrinkled his nose and decided to ignore the fact that he had wet his pants. The redhead glanced over at Zoro and Luffy, who were lying on the floor, and heard soft noises coming from them. Were they...giggles? "What on earth are you laughing about?" she asked the two boys, who were clearly awake.
Zoro and Luffy burst into laughter as they began to roll on the ground.
"HE REALLY-!"
"He peed here!"
"I CAN'T BELIEVE-!"
"USOPP PEED HIS PANTS!" they laughed in unison. The two boys clutched their stomachs in pain as their muscles cramped from laughing so hard.
The orange-haired girl couldn't help but smile too. Yes... After Mad Treasure, she'd forget about them. That part of the plan remained the same. But until then... Maybe it would be nice to relax a little, maybe enjoy something in life for once. She liked the sound of it. Cocoyashi would always be on her mind, but that didn't mean she couldn't have a little fun on the journey to save him. The girl circled the two boys and lay back on the bed, lost in thought. They weren't pirates yet... So maybe... The three of them could be... Friends, until then?
It didn't sound so bad in her head. Nami slipped under the covers and lay back, closing her eyes with a faint smile. She could think about it later. Right now, she could still use some more rest. Getting up had been painful.
"Oh, Nami!" exclaimed Luffy, sitting up, still chuckling slightly. "Don't you want to go see our new ship before we go back to sleep?"
The redhead's eyes snapped open and she suddenly woke up completely. "Ship?!"
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Hi everyone, what do you think of the story so far? The book has over 300 chapters. If you'd like to download the complete book, it's available on my Ko-fi page. Here's the link: 👉 🤩 ko-fi.com/winterstar01 🤩