𝕮𝖑𝖔𝖘𝖚𝖗𝖊 (One Piece x Reader)

Chapter 5: Fishman Island!

Nami often wondered at times why you were so adamant on not relying on them. Could it be that you didn't trust them? Did you not think they were capable of it? You had nine shoulders to lean on and yet you turned yours cold at all of them when it truly mattered: when you really needed it.

Even though these questions plagued her mind she knew you didn't mean any harm by it. It wasn't that you hated them or couldn't trust them. She knew firsthand the terrible fear of asking for help, the deadly considerate thoughts that she knew was poisoning you. She could understand not wanting your loved ones to worry or even thinking that it was your responsibility to do it all by yourself. 

Nami didn't want you to think that way. In her mind, you were strong, both mentally and physically. You were stronger than her in both aspects, but she didn't want you to have to be strong all the time. That wasn't the life you were living now and it was never the life you deserved. 

She watched you smile weakly at something she didn't bother to notice, her eyes watching the sweat travel along your skin and the scene of you and Chopper leaving together before you emerged by yourself flashing into her mind. Call it a navigator's instinct, but she could tell something was wrong. 

The far off look in your eyes, the slump in your shoulders, the small frown she'd catch on your lips-not that she had been staring at them. After two years of having time to herself, she's become more keen on watching your subconscious gestures or hearing the slight dips in your voice. 

Nami wondered if you'd ever tell her what was wrong, if she'd be the first to hear about it. She wondered what she'd have to do to fully become a shoulder to lean on like how Luffy had convinced her to do with him. She wanted you to feel that same relief that she felt when she was finally released from the shackles of responsibility and pain. 

There always seemed to be a painful look in your eyes. 

It seemed contagious even when Nami had just met you. She hadn't realized at the time that the uncomfortable gut feeling she got on that day was from the lack of joy in your eyes. Seeing the way you would look at something with a longing gaze as if it was out of your reach, never to be grasped onto by your soft, yet slightly blistered hands. Listening to the melody of your laugh as if there was a beat missing or one more instrument lacking as it played on for people to hear, secretly waiting for someone to complete the orchestra. She could easily identify the emptiness that you harbored within you unwillingly, but she could never figure out what it was exactly your body-your soul-was craving for. 

Her lips pushed against each other as if they wanted to form a frown, but the woman wouldn't let them. She looked away from the sight of you, something she's found harder to do than usual as she caught the sight of an underwater volcano on the verge of erupting. She yelled out to the Kraken below only to see him running for his life already with the ship in his tentacles. It wasn't long until the avalanche caused by the volcano caught up to them knocking Surume, the Kraken, out and sending their ship tumbling down the dark sea. 

As Nami began to lose consciousness from the tossing of the ship, she caught one last glimpse at you. She hoped she'd be able to help you fill that emptiness. She hoped you would let her help you. 

***

The darkness that surrounded me slowly became lighter and lighter before my eyes opened to a blinding light above me. I slowly got up from my place on the deck, flinching slightly at the pain once I placed pressure on my arm before it gradually went away and I was able to bring myself up. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I could hear everyone else start to awake from their knocked about position. 

With one more blink I was able to see the ocean around me clearly. Rays of sunlight had beamed through the clear, reflective waters somehow as a vast amount of different sea creatures swam around us. Dolphins, fishes, and sea creatures alike were happily at home in these calm waters. What stood out like a sore thumb, however, was a giant bubble with a small bubble on top of it. There was a door on the outside surface and although I couldn't see that well inside the bubble, I could tell that was the island that we had come here seeking for.