Chapter Text
it was crammed on Nami's dingy Normally she would have done something by now, kicked her new travel mates into the sea, smashed their heads together till they were companion and if they were good people yell at them for a while but she didn't dare, was it because both are younger than her or that she felt sympathy for them running away from pirates and she a kind and generous woman is glad to help...
fuck no! She was terrified, not of her new companion at least directly but of the joyous older one accidentally sinking their boat in the middle of the ocean like he did with the two boys' original vessel. Nami found the straw-hatted teen's strength terrifying with it potentially being above the average member Arlong's crew but with so much less control. to say nothing of the flames on the boy's back.
"Can you keep your back away from the deck and sails, I don't want them to burn... please," she asked timidly. Looking her way he hummed before placing his hands behind his head and made to begin laying down on his back.
suitably freaked 'he is going to burn the ship!' her mind screamed scrambling for the bailing bucket filling it with seawater before swiftly like the experienced sailor she was, threw the cold water over the boy only there was no smoke or sizzling of a fire being put out only an indignant "Hay!" yelled at her along with a stomp and the sound of cracking wood from where the boy stood up from.
Anger from both parties disappeared replaced with panic when all three looked down at his foot sticking out of the bottom of the boat water leaking in 'SSSHhiittttt' she screamed in her mind as she wordlessly stared slack-jawed at the long appendage that had sealed their doom! in a hurry, Luffy rushed to pull his leg back through the hole he made "Wait that wil..." Nami tried to warn the tall boy but it was too late with his leg now free from the wood water rushed through the empty hole like a fountain.
Desperate to not sink she dove too the opening and cupped her hands around the hole trying to stop as much water as she could "Pink Kid! check under the seats small boats like this have repair kits for situations just like this!" she yelled in panic. "Tall Guy, be careful while you do so but-"
"My name is Monkey D. Luffy, not tall guy" he shouted pausing before adding "You meanie" blowing a raspberry in her direction, only to choke on his own tongue when she grabbed his ankle and yanked his feet out from under him. with the small boy tending to the hole with a repair kit Nami decided giving the tall idiot her full attention safe.
Luffy was mad now first she told him what to do, normally he wouldn't care but then she splashed him with water called him a name then tripped him "I'm gonna burn her spare clothes" he muttered to himself but when he looked up from where he was laying he forgot all about his petty revenge.
Standing over Luffy was what he could only conclude was a demon shore It had a passing resemblance to the girl he was squabbling with earlier but what was before Luffy had to be some evil spirit, ice blue horns and scaly wings, sharp pointed eyes of pure abyss, pointed teeth large and sharp enough to make any shark jealous, as if all that wasn't bad enough a palpable cold was poring out of the monster.
For the first time in his life, Luffy shivered from the cold. he barely had enough time to gulp before he met his doom.
Inspecting the small boy's handiwork Nami was impressed "Hay this isn't half bad, not bad kid" It wasn't quite a compliment but you'll rarely hear her give better praise. after thinking it over for a moment she decided to properly introduce herself "I'm Nami by the way, a thief who steals from pirates... what's your story you don't seem stupid enough to willingly go with that idiot over there" she asked Koby while pointing to Luffy hanging upside down his ankles tide to the mast's yard.
"Nam pleeessse let meee dowwnn," said Idiot whined
looking back towards the whining pirate she quickly shot him down "Not until we make port, I don't want you putting another hole in the ship. think of this as a punishment, while you hang there you can think about your actions". he muttered some apologies before going limp seeming to give up
when she turned back to Koby he nearly jumped out of his skin. "well are you going to leave me hanging" she giggled "Or are you going to introduce yourself" she asked in a kinder tone than any she had used for Luffy so far... if only a little.
Nami certainly wasn't expecting the little boy, Koby's story to be so similar to her own and even if it was in a detached manner she felt a sort of sympathy and kinship with the younger boy 'he's not bad at ship maintenance and a decent navigator, nothing compared to me of course but still, he says he was picked up a few years ago... I wonder how long he was under their thumb.' she thought sadly but not letting her emotions show.
"so he saved you, and that's why you're with him" Koby nodded to her questioning "Oi tall moron you a bounty hunter or something? why didn't you take Alavida with you so you could collect the reward?" when she asked the question Koby started fusing and t muttering something Nami could not quite decipher
Directing his gaze from the boundless ocean towards the girl luffy gave a smile like the sun "I'm a pirate, pirates can't collect other pirate's bounties, duh" luffy shook his head at the last part as if teaching a kid an obvious truth all people above a certain age know.
it took Nami longer than she would care to admit to process his words anger, betrayal and frustration flood through her before freezing into fear 'i just tied up and yelled at a pirate as strong as a fishman' the thought sent a shiver up her spine. before she even strung him up by his ankles she knew if he wanted to he could rip his binds of at anytime with no difficulty that was probably the only reason he let her do it even if he was sort of agreeing it best for the 'safety of the vessel' as he sunk the last two he had.
"your a pirate?" it was probably the quietest she had spoken to the two stowaways on her boat, she was hoping it sounded calm, measured and collected as she was anything but.
"sure am!" the response was quick but he wasn't done "and one day ..." he paused to smile even wider, inhaling deep before declaring "i'll even be the king of the pirates" as loud and proudly as possible without yelling "hay i Know! Nam your good at sailing and stuff, join my crew!"
instinctively responding "No way! I hate pirates! and my name is Nami N.A.M.I! get it right!" her rejection came out far more aggressive than she intended there was just something about the boy that got under her skin to an unreasonable degree. raising her hands to cover her mouth in horror and as if to stop herself from saying anything else that could anger the freakishly strong pirate.
luffy was quick to respond but not with the anger nami was expecting "how could you not admire pirates why would anyone not want to be a pirate, just imagine it the freedom, the adventure, the treasure... the freedom" the childish rebuttal and arm gestures where not what nami expected
exasperated 'did he just justify pirates, with freedom... twice?' she whispered to herself. Maybe he was so childish and naive he didn't know what pirates are really like "how could anyone admire thieves, robbers and cheats who pillage, rape, abuse and exploit whoever they can, that's what pirates are. they are the very definition of evil how could you not hate them."
he just shrugged saying "some are" without a care.
now nami was angry at first she thought it was childish naivety but he clearly knows what pirates are. "you know what pirates are and you still want to be one, why would you want to be something evil!"
"nuh-uh, pirates aren't evil, being a pirate is about doing what you want and going where you want, under your own flag and your own rules!"... "some pirates are bad some are good" he shrugged again "being a pirate is all about freedom, adventure, FUN and following your Dreams!" he ended his speech shouting.
while nami hated pirates on principle luffy made them sound almost honorable. 'going where you want and doing what you want with your own rules' what would that be like, is that really what it felt like to be a pirate?... and they choose to hurt people, the same words that made pirates sound almost not that bad suddenly had a new meaning making them even more detestable to Nami. "that's not how they act" she huffed turning to sit with her back to the wannabe pirate.