Yay! Side Chapter!
Shoutout to Angel Zamora for being a part of the Advance Tier on my Patreon!
Please enjoy.
Chapter 15.5
Girl Talk on the Thousand Sunny
"So, Nami. Do you like Luffy?"
"What?!"
The two Straw Hat women sat alone together in the Sunny's women's cabin. It was the night of the day when Angel had attacked them, and after the two Revolutionary leaders, Ryuuhei and Sairo, had visited their ship. Currently, Luffy was still above deck asleep under Nami's tangerine trees after his fight with Ryuuhei.
Robin suddenly asked Nami a very personal question while she was reading a book. If the navigator was drinking anything, she would have definitely done a spit take at the abrupt question.
"Do you?" Robin asked again.
"No!" Was Nami's reflexive response. She bit her lip, then sighed. "I mean, of course I like him, but obviously you are asking the other kind of like, right?"
"I am."
"Would it matter if I did?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean… it's Luffy. He's hardly like Sanji in that area. I don't think his brain is wired for those sorts of feelings."
Robin considered. "You have a point. Certainly, our captain isn't very focused on women. Still, what about you?"
Nami looked almost sad. "That creep basically outed me, anyway."
Robin scowled in righteous anger. "That was so very wrong of him. One of many wrong things he did to us today, but still truly awful."
When Angel addressed Nami, he asked her point blank if she had feelings for Luffy. Nami, in an act of defiance, didn't deny it. She did not want to give that guy the satisfaction of seeing her blush or act like a shy little girl being teased about her crush. It was still humiliating, but the best thing she could've done in that situation.
Fortunately, the guys either didn't recall it due to the stress of that situation or were just choosing to not bother her with it.
"It still happened," Nami said. "I am not even sure if I really do. I am… inexperienced in that sort of thing."
"I'm hardly an expert, either," Robin mused.
"I suppose it doesn't help that my pubescent years were spent stealing from pirates. While other girls my age were having their first crushes, I was busy running for my life."
"Yes. The same is true for me."
Both women's girlhoods were cut short by the decisions of cruel and evil men. Nami's by Arlong and his crew. Robin's by the World Government. Amongst the tragedies of having their little lives torn asunder, it also robbed them of having a stable environment to navigate their changing bodies and the complications that come along with it.
No mothers or maternal figures to guide them. They could at least consult doctors, but their respective situations made that complicated. Especially for Robin, who was wanted by the whole world and could seldom find a trustworthy physician to aid her.
But that was the past. They were now safe and secure and even had a cute doctor to go to when they needed help now.
They didn't want to waste time or energy complaining, and they wouldn't. It was just that they couldn't deny that their pasts made some things challenging.
"But we make do, right?" Robin said, giving Nami a sisterly smile. "Life didn't give us the best hands, but we kept drawing from the deck and eventually we ended up here."
"That's true," Nami smiled. "I am incredibly happy that I met Luffy. Before him, things were dark for me. I probably hadn't smiled from the bottom of my heart for years until I met him and got to know him."
Robin didn't know the specifics of Nami's past. She never asked. But she did know she was a thief who stole from pirates before joining Luffy's crew and becoming a pirate herself. Outside of that, she knew very little about the ship's navigator.
However, Robin's intuition told her Nami didn't have the easiest past. You didn't become a thief who risked her life stealing from pirates if your circumstances were happy. In that respect, they were similar.
"Yes, I can relate. It's the same for me, too. Until I met you all, I had thought I had forgotten how to truly smile."
"So, I'm worried that I'm confusing my feelings of gratitude for him, for something else. It's stupid, I know, but-"
"It isn't. It's very natural for you to wonder and be concerned about the validity of your feelings. Unfortunately, only you can decide that. I at least do not have the knowledge to help you in that regard."
Nami nodded. She didn't expect Robin to be able to give her an easy answer. This was something she just needed to figure out on her own.
"But you know… I've seen you with him. The way you look at him. To me, your feelings are clearly strong. Regardless of what they ultimately are, there is no doubt you truly care about him."
Nami's cheeks warmed. Was she that transparent? "Yeah, I guess. But you know… this is all a moot point, because whether or not I really do think of Luffy like that, he definitely doesn't see me like that."
"How can you be so sure?"
Nami almost laughed. "Cause it's Luffy. The only kind of romance he's into is the adventure kind."
"Yes, you're right about that. Certainly, our captain isn't particularly motivated by relationships with the opposite sex-which is part of his appeal-but still, he is only 17. And he's focused on becoming the King of the Pirates. Perhaps, as he grows up, he'll start to desire such a relationship. And when that happens, then perhaps the one closest to him could be his first choice."
Nami was quiet for a moment. "…That seems like a big if."
Surely people change as time goes on. Certainly Nami has changed since knowing Luffy, but it was equally possible that he'd never change.
And honestly, she might prefer that. The Luffy she may or may not desire was the idiot who fell from the sky while she was being chased by pirates and changed her life.
"Yes," Robin agreed. "But it isn't impossible."
"I can't even imagine it. You know, it isn't as though I want that either? Being a couple and all the things that couples do. What would that even look like with us?"
"Personally, I think you two would be adorable together."
"If you say so. So, what about you?"
Robin looked confused. "Me?"
"Have you ever had someone like that?"
Robin smiled. "Afraid not. I never even had any true friends before you all. Let alone a lover."
"I see. Well, it was the same with me."
Be it a life of stealing from pirates or a life constantly on the run, neither lifestyle led to an environment that easily allowed someone to build relationships.
Nor did either really allow themselves to form any kind of relationships. For their own reasons, being alone was easier than having friends.
They might've kept living like that until they died if Luffy had never come into their lives.
Suddenly, a memory resurfaced in Robin's head. She recalled a man.
"Although… there was someone in my past," Robin said softly.
"Oh?" Nami said, intrigued. "A guy?"
"Not like that. In fact, he was barely a friend. He worked as my body guard for awhile when I was at a previous organization. Although I say bodyguard, he probably would have killed me, if he needed to."
"Kill you, huh?" She grimaced. If Sanji was hearing this, then he'd certainly burst out in righteous flames. "Could he have?"
"He had a shot. He was quite strong. I'm sure Zoro would have wanted to challenge him if he met him. Strangely, he might've been one of the few people in my time since becoming wanted that I felt remotely comfortable with."
"Really? Even though he could have killed you?"
"I know it sounds strange, but-"
"It doesn't. I think I get it." She had hated pirates before meeting Luffy, but it was pirates who won her freedom from Arlong and saved her home. The world didn't need to make sense all of the time. "We're helped and comforted by the oddest things, aren't we?"
Robin smiled. "Indeed. He was a complicated person. He was a sword for hire, who often worked for bad people, but deep down, I feel like he wasn't a bad man. When I was with him, I felt, if only for a moment, like a person instead of a criminal who possessed forbidden knowledge that everyone either wanted to take for themselves or destroy."
Nami understood that. Arlong only wanted her for her cartography skills. She loved to draw maps, but she certainly didn't want to only be a tool for creating high quality maps. Was it ironic that Luffy had no idea how good her maps really were?
"So, where is he now?"
"I don't know," she said solemnly. "In a single night, that entire organization was wiped out when it was attacked by a strong individual. Not that in itself mattered much to me, as I only used all of the criminal organizations I joined as a way of staying safe from Government pursuit. But it was sudden, and we had to act fast. We both decided to cut our losses and escape, but then we were cornered by that attacker. They were strong. I could tell that fighting was not going to end well, but then he defended me and told me to run. I did."
Nami's eyes narrowed. She could tell that made her feel guilty. "What happened to the guy?"
"I am not sure. I escaped thanks to him, but I don't know if he's dead or alive. At the very least, I know his body wasn't discovered at the base after that incident."
"Well, that's good then. He might be alive. If he's not definitely dead then he's probably still out there."
"Yes, he probably is."
"And considering what we just did at Enies Lobby, he probably knows you're okay, too. Maybe we'll see him someday."
"Perhaps. Although, I doubt he's that sentimental."
"You never know."
"True. But we've wandered off topic. Do you want to be with Luffy?"
Nami's face fell. She had hoped they were through with that topic. "I mean, like I said. It's a pointless question. Luffy's not the lovey dovey type. For that matter, neither am I. I mean, I'm not looking for romance."
She wasn't craving romantic dinners or long walks on the beach. She'd be content just them staying a crew forever.
Although, she recalled early this morning. She and Luffy had something resembling a moment before Angel had shown up. She wouldn't mind more moments like that.
"Us as a couple would be meaningless."
"You say that, but you two could always try making love."
Nami's face turned bright red at Robin's blunt suggestion. "Robin!"
The archaeologist laughed almost uncontrollably. "You should see your face!"
"I can't believe you just said that!" She started laughing at herself. After a few moments, they both settled down. "I'm really okay with things as they are. For now, at least."
"I see. If that's how you feel, then I won't say anything more."
"But there is something I wanted to ask. Do you know who Yuki is?"
Before Angel was about to kill her, he said that a girl named Yuki, who was apart of Luffy's mom's crew, also liked Luffy. It was an entirely possible he was just lying, but she doubted he'd say such a thing if it wasn't at least partly true.
Ultimately, she just wanted a little more about her, if they ever met.
"I can tell you quite a bit. For starters, she's called the Princess of Hell."
"Princess of Hell? What'd she do to get that nickname?"
"Firstly, she is the direct disciple of the She-Demon."
"She's Luffy's mom's student?"
"That's what I've heard. On top of that, she is considered the strongest young marine of this generation and is also called the Generation's Strongest. A true once in decade talent. She has the record for most pirates captured and defeated in a young marine's career."
Nami couldn't believe her ears. "And Luffy knows her?"
"I don't know for sure. But since she's his mother's student, it's likely."
"Seems like everybody Luffy knows is some kind of monster…" Nami smiled wryly.
"And, I must tell you, she's reputed to be quite beautiful. Some pirates go off with a smile at being arrested by such a beauty."
"Oh, I'm not worried about that. I'm sure she's lovely, but I'm hot, too." Nami said, confidently flipping her hair.
"Of course," Robin giggled. No one could ever accuse their navigator of having body image issues.
"Besides, if looks meant anything to Luffy, I think it'd be a lot easier to tell if he and I could have a future together. Still, I'd love to know what his relationship with this Yuki girl really is."
"Then ask him."
"He's still out cold after that fight he had with Ryuuhei."
"Then go sit with him and wait for him to wake up."
"Okay… I guess I will. You know, this is fun."
"Fun?"
"Having a girl talk with you. I never used to do that before. I love the guys but they'd be a lot to take without some girlfriends to talk to. Which was why I was glad to have Vivi when she was with us, and was sad when she couldn't come with us. That's why I'm glad you're here, Robin."
Robin stared speechless at the younger girl for a moment before smiling. "Me, too. I'm glad you're here, too, Nami."
Nami smiled brightly at her before leaving to go to Luffy. Robin sat alone in the girls cabin.
She really was very grateful. The crew will never know how grateful she is to have finally found a place to truly call home. A happy, lively place where she could have a girly discussion with a friend.
It was a treasure that was equal to her dream of finding the Rio Poneglyph and learning the true history.
Shoutout to Angel Zamora for being a part of the Advance Tier on my Patreon!