The Game (luNa)

8

like it was filled with a fog so thick that it felt like water. There was a constant pain behind her eyelids as if someone had jammed a dagger into her head and shook it around whenever she breathed. Her body was groggy and slow to respond. Sound, however, was slowly starting to reach her.

'... recipe...' Luffy's voice.

'...Millions of beri...' wait - MILLIONS OS BERI! Nami forced her eyes open. Thankfully, she wasn't looking directly into the sun. there was a body in the way. Somebody was sheltering her. As her vision came into focus, she noticed the red shirt and straw hat. Luffy. And she was in his arms.

The smell of salt hit her all of a sudden, followed by the sensation of bobbing up and down. They were on the water, but not on the mary. On their way there maybe?' She looked up to check, but didn't get further than her captain's face. Luffy was watching her carefully, concern carved into his facial expression.

When her eyes settled on him he offered her one of his typical grins. She returned it the best she could, and leaned into him. He lifted her up so that her head rested on his chest. They sat like that for a while longer until, finally, the dingy reached the mary.

Zoro clambered up with chopper on his shoulders and dropped the ladder down for the others. Usopp went up first, followed by sanji. Nami allowed Luffy to shift her back onto his back before he too climbed the ladder.

Soon enough, they were ready to go. Luffy had put nami down in the kitchen while he helped with the ship, leaving her alone with her thoughts, for once. Nami watched her captain's back as he left the room and shut the door carefully behind him.

Why is this happening? She thought as she watched him go. Why am I falling for my own captain? A man I could never be with, not in a hundred years. And why does he have to go leading me on like that! I mean, he can't just go around doing things like that. Her train of thought continued in this way until she reached a realisation. But he doesn't, does he? He doesn't act that way to anyone else. How am I supposed to feel about that? I mean, it's luffy. He doesn't even have a reason for his actions most of the time. Again, she circled back the same thought. Why him? Why me?

Luffy had done everything he could and was sitting on the head of the going mary. His head was filled with too much, as usual. Thoughts about Nami, about Ace, about his crew. It really hit him sometimes, all of them at once.

It only took one little thing to trigger the whole lot, and when that happened, he went into the state he had been in that night when nami had sat with him. It never usually got that bad, but he still hated the feeling of being that vulnerable. He slipped into the dorm and closed the door behind him, hiding himself away. He climbed into his bunk and began to sob.

Nami was still in the kitchen, but she was no longer alone. Pretty much everyone was there. Sanji was cooking, Usopp was yapping and Zoro was completely ignoring him. They were only missing two people; the doctor, who was sorting through some of the medical supplies he had found on the way back through the forest, and Luffy, who nobody had seen for quite some time. Nami was getting worried.

She stood up to go look for him just as chopper came in, looking as chipper as ever. He trotted over to Zoro and hopped up next to him. Usopp then moved on from zoro and started telling his tales to his new, much more enthusiastic audience.

Nami slipped out, unnoticed by everyone but Zoro who just gave her a strange look before returning his attention to the floor. Nami hurried out onto the deck and looked up to the head of the mary. No luffy. She wandered around to the male dorm and knocked tentatively on the door.

'Luffy?' She called. 'Are you there?' There was a long silence. Then came the response.

'N-nami?' The sadness in his voice broke her heart.

'I'm coming in, k?' She said opening the door. Luffy was sitting in his hammock, looking down at her. She craned her neck to look up at him and asked,

'Can I come up?' Luffy stretched an arm down and she took hold of it. Before she knew it she was flung into the air and caught by her captain's waiting arms. He was shivering again and his cheeks were streaked with tears. Nami lay down in the hammock and, after a second's hesitation, Luffy did too. He buried his head in the navigator's hair and wrapped a shaking arm around her warm body, pulling her close.

Likewise, she tucked her arms in and buried her head in his chest, breathing in his scent. He was still covered in bandages, but he didn't seem to mind. Nami could feel the tears still streaming down his face, but knew that she was doing everything she could, and that it meant a lot. After a while, the captain cried himself to sleep. Nami followed shortly after, drifting off to the sound of his breathing.

Zoro had watched Nami leave and knew she was worried about Luffy. He was too. He waited for her for a while, but eventually realised she wasn't coming back. Sanji had just served dinner.

'Where are the other two?' he asked, concerned. Usop shrugged, digging into his meal while Luffy was absent. Sanji turned and headed to the door, but Zoro stopped him.

'Wait. leave them be for now. They'll come when they feel like it.' Sanji hesitated, clearly disliking being given orders by zoro, but turned back around eventually. They enjoyed their meal in silence.