Luffy woke up groaning. His whole body ached. The boy slowly opened his eyes, looking around.
He smiled as his gaze fell upon a head of orange hair that seemed familiar. So, after all, she had decided to stay. That pleased him. He wanted to know her name; he found it intriguing. Although she had been afraid of the Man of the Woods, she had tried to go after the treasure. That took a lot of courage. In the end, she succeeded, so he wasn't angry that she had tried to steal it. It was just part of the adventure. And what an adventure it was.
Luffy sighed, groaning in pain as he tried to sit up. "So, voyeur, what made you stay?" he asked the redhead, who was sitting at a table in the middle of the room. She seemed to be... drawing something?
The girl wore a blue and white striped V-neck T-shirt and a short orange-yellow skirt with three intersecting dark orange circles, surrounded by white, running up the left side. Around the cuffs, neckline, and hem of the T-shirt were two thin blue stripes, plus three more: one large one around the chest and two smaller ones just below it.
The redhead snorted in dismay as she stopped and turned in her chair, looking up from the newly awakened child. "You have to stop calling me that!" she huffed angrily.
"Well, the truth is I don't know what to call you... You never told me your name," she replied with a distressed laugh. It didn't help that, as a voyeur, she fit right in. After all, she was one.
The redhead remained silent. "Nami," she replied softly.
Nami. She liked it. A wave. It suited her. She was going to make waves with him, she knew it. "I like it!" she said, finally managing to sit up.
The girl blushed. Where did he get that kind of thing? He'd paraded her around in the middle of the forest! Nami turned her head and snorted, blushing even more. She definitely hadn't been spying... "What's yours?" she murmured, still with her back to Luffy.
"I certainly didn't hear it," he whistled, though he undoubtedly had. He wanted me to ask him in person.
Nami turned to him and angrily repeated, "I said, what's yours? And you're a terrible liar!"
Luffy laughed, groaning in pain once more. Shanks had said the same thing. "I'm Luffy," he replied. His body ached terribly. He lay back and raised his arm, flexing his fist. He had given it his all in that last attack. "Thanks, Sabo," he thought, looking at his hand with a smile. He had actually managed to coat his entire hand with his Haki. He had grown stronger. The only downside was that he wouldn't be able to use weapons for a while. What a shame. In the meantime, he would have to grow stronger without them.
"Luffy," she said to herself, tasting the name on her lips.
"Yes, it's me," said the boy in the straw hat, his stomach growling. How long had it been since he'd eaten? And, by the way, how long had he been sleeping?
"Thank you," Nami whispered softly, her gaze fixed on the pencil in her lap. She couldn't look at it as she said it.
"Why?" Luffy asked. He remembered saving her, but he didn't think she deserved thanks, so he figured it must be something more. He'd only been trying to get to the treasure before her. And he'd succeeded, so everything had turned out alright in the end. Maybe she was thanking him for the free show?
"For saving me, of course!" the girl replied indignantly. What more could she thank him for?
"Oh!" exclaimed the black-haired boy. So it had been like that.
A bead of sweat trickled down Nami's brow. "Yes." She couldn't think of any other reason why she might have thought she was thanking her. "I thought that wolf was going to eat me. You saved me... So, thank you."
Just as Luffy heard the word "wolf," he panicked. He suddenly realized he didn't know where White and her pups were. He'd left them behind to get to the cave faster. What had happened to them after he fainted? Were they alright?
'Sure'.
The soft "voice" echoed in Luffy's mind, and he let out a sigh of relief. If he'd paid closer attention, he would have noticed that his new amulet had become a little warmer, but he was only focused on White and that she was safe. That was all that mattered. "Don't worry," she said with a smile, knowing his friend was alright. "But you were trying to steal my treasure! That was too clever!" the black-haired teenager exclaimed, glaring at the girl. He was lucky she'd succeeded; otherwise, he would have been furious.
"Well, you're an idiot. As if I wasn't going after the treasure! Anyone could have seen it," Nami replied, frowning. She'd made it perfectly obvious.
"Now you're just being cruel!" Luffy pouted as he tried to stretch his muscles on the bed. His whole body was tense like a spring. "Besides, you said you wouldn't!" He groaned. It hurt, but he really needed it. He didn't know if he could walk any other way.
Nami shook her head in exasperation. The newly appointed Luffy was an idiot.
The conversation paused as the girl watched Luffy stretch out on the bed. Finally, she looked away, blushing. Why was he stretching like that?
"You should join my crew," the boy in the straw hat said suddenly.
The redhead's gaze fixed on Luffy. "Which crew?" she asked, a clear suspicion in her voice.
"My pirate crew..." Luffy replied, looking at Nami hopefully. He really wanted to spend more time with her. He wanted to be her friend! The boy kept stretching as he waited for her answer.
"Are you a pirate?" Nami asked, lowering her voice and adopting a darker tone.
"Well, not yet, but I will," Luffy replied. As soon as he got home, he was off again. That was for sure. Just thinking about it excited him. But that wouldn't be for a while. He still had time for more adventures!
"Why would you want to be a pirate?" the orange-haired girl asked, her tone sharp and venomous. Pirates had ruined her life. They were the scum of the earth. People who did nothing but steal and hurt others. They had taken her mother from her, and she hated them for it, believing with all her heart that she always would.
"What do you mean? Being a pirate is the best thing you can do!" Luffy exclaimed.
Anger bloomed in Nami's chest. "Pirates are scum." How could the one who had saved her life say he wanted to be what she hated most?
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