The Navigator and The Pirate

"You're my navigator."

The festivities lasted all through the night.  Arlong was defeated and the villagers were free from his clutches for good; all because a boy saw his friend in distress and wanted to make it better, to see her smile again.

All she had to do was ask and her wish was his command.  If Nami had known it was going to be that 'easy', she would have asked a long time ago but Luffy and the others were dear to her and Arlong was strong and ruthless.  The last thing she wanted was to see any of them hurt or even worse, killed.

All Luffy did was prove her wrong like he had been doing ever since she met him.  She figured that she would be out of her mind if she dared to doubt him again, even for a second. 

Monkey D. Luffy was strong.  He was kind and capable of many, many things.  He was a true companion and friend.  And the man who will one day be Pirate King.   And Nami believed all of it.  Anyone who made it their business to convince her otherwise would be dead wrong. 

Nami fresh from the doctor was in the company of Zoro and Usopp.  She had a bone to pick with them. 

"You two are real pieces of work, you know that?  You almost got me into a lot of trouble."

"It's fine.  Is your hand okay?" Usopp asked.

"The doctor took care of it."

Neither Zoro nor Usopp mentioned the self-inflicted wound on her shoulder.  The doctor more or less did a great job patching that up too. 

"Arlong could have seriously gotten both of you killed."

"But you saved us; helped us escape," said Zoro.  His injury wasn't any better but the alcohol made it bearable. 

"What more could I have done?"

"Sat back.  Watched us die," said Usopp.

"But-"

"But you didn't.  And we have you to thank for that."

Silence fell between them despite the loud music and cheering in the background.  Nami wanted to cry all over again just like she did when Luffy declared atop the rubble of Arlong Park that she was his friend.  It was a mixture of happiness and relief all in one.

"Thank you," was what she finally blurted out and Zoro and Usopp each wore warm smiles on their faces.  It made her heart glad. 

"You have Luffy to thank, not us.  We were following the captain's orders."

"Luffy?  Well, of course."

Usopp nudged Zoro's arm but he ignored it. 

"You should have seen him," Zoro continued, "When Johnny and Yosaku said that you had taken the ship and the treasure, I told Luffy to forget about you but he insisted saying that he wanted you to be our navigator no matter what."

At that Nami's face warmed. 

"Naturally, I was more worried about the ship," said Usopp, "but we had gotten close and it was a shame to see you go.  Zoro and I just thought that you had a good reason for doing what you did.  Luffy on the other hand didn't care for a reason.  He just wanted you back and wasn't going to take no for an answer."

Nami cleared her throat and said,

"It wasn't easy, you know.  Leaving you guys.  Although it was such a short time together, it was fun."

"We get that.  We're friends, after all."

"Friends."

Nami liked the way the word rolled off her tongue.  It was amazing how it gave her an exhilarating sense of belonging and purpose.