(UNDER A REWRITE) THEY KNOW FEAR AGAIN.
There's the smell of something burning and setting her lungs ablaze, the taste of sea salt, and the cold water splashing against her skin. Drowning into the blue sea. It overwhelmed and swallowed her whole and...
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CHAPTER ELEVEN, save me now
CONOMI ISLANDS was a place she never dreamed of reaching. Tall palm trees enshrouding the humble village in streaks of sunlight. A barren path greeted them as they made their way back to Nami. The girl with hair the shade of bright tangerines. These were the islands she grew up in and the sight of the flipped, broken house did nothing to move their thoughts in a positive way.
"Never seen that before." Zoro said.
The air felt a bit more sullen now and Sanji's frown deepened. "What could have done this?"
"Maybe I should head back, make sure the Merry's secure." Usopp said quietly with a tremor in his voice could be heard.
"Usopp, I don't think that's a good idea." Jie whispered under her breath.
"Arlong did this." Luffy said quietly, his silent fury evident in his angry expression. Arlong already took Nami for his own selfish need. The depth of his power could be seen through the ruined village and the remnants of his lackeys sprawled all around.
"Hey, shit-hat!" Buggy's muffled voice came from the bag. "I think we can all agree Arlong's a bad fish. But why don't we quit lollygagging and get my body back?"
"Pipe down in there." Sanji warned him.
"Or what? You gonna whip me up a soufflé?"
Sanji's eyes darted to Usopp. "How about you take him for a while?"
"Oh, new guy carries the clown head."
The hesitant look on Usopp's face left Sanji to take the refusal and move on. No one wanted to stuck with the noisy clown head, especially when all of their minds were stuck with worries of Nami's condition. Buggy was just another unpleasant thing to add onto it.
"...Do you want me to hold him?" Jie asked under her breath and noted the frown embedded on Sanji's face. The last thing she wanted to do was carry Buggy right next to her ears, but the uneasiness settling between all of them was getting too much to bear. Helping was the least she could do for everyone.
"Definitely not. I should." Sanji shook his head and it was the end of that conversation.
A crowd gathered ahead of them in the distance. Villagers dressed in tattered, soiled clothes. They stood around facing one man on the platform as if waiting for an announcement. Their anxious, quiet whispers shared amongst themselves.
