Steel Heart

Ch 45 - What is Love?

The brat disappeared as soon as everyone boarded the Thousand Sunny and left the Flying Fish Hideout. She was not with them when they headed off to get Hatchi's takoyaki ship. She was not with them when they anchored the Thousand Sunny so that Hatchi could attach his takoyaki ship to the side.

Franky crossed his arms and frowned. If memory served him correctly, the brat very much enjoyed takoyaki...So where was she? And come to think of it...where was the dog?

Franky decided to go through the process of elimination and go from the bottom up. He headed straight for her room first and was surprised to see that she wasn't there. He then went to the energy room, thinking maybe she was just doing a routine maintenance check. She wasn't in there either.

He then went into the docking room and, of course, the brat wasn't there. There was no need for her to be. He was just about to turn to leave when he heard a splashing sound coming from Dock #1. He raised an eyebrow and slowly pulled up the gate. His eyes widened when he saw that the brat was floating in the middle of the water and clinging onto the back of her dog wearing only her bra and underwear. The hobby horse waver had been pulled out of the water with her clothes draped over it.

"Nana-brat. What the hell are you-"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Nana snapped in frustration, "I'm trying to swim."

She let go and flung herself into the water again only to start flailing about before sinking to the bottom. Her dog quickly dove down and pulled her up as she coughed up the sea water. "God damn it. God damn it. God damn it!"

She climbed back onto the dog and Franky couldn't tell if she was shivering from the cold or from fright. Franky silently stepped fully into the dock and closed the door behind him. There was no need for anyone else to find them. Not now, at least. He sat cross legged at the edge of the platform and he studied her silently.

She glared at him. "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Aren't you going to ask why I have the sudden urge to learn how to swim?" she demanded.

"Are you going to tell me?" Franky shot back.

She fell silent as her and Pygmy floated in the water.

Franky sighed and he put his sunglasses onto his head so he could have a heart to heart with the brat. "Listen, Nana-brat. I understand that you're upset that you couldn't save Curly Cook but-'

"I wasn't good enough," Nana said softly with her eyes on the water. She lowered her head and rested it against the back of Pygmy's head. She could feel the hot tears start to fall down her cheek and she prayed Franky would think it was the water, "That's all there is to it. I wasn't good enough."

Franky winced as he recalled his words to the brat when she tried to jump in after Curly Cook. "What good could you do?"

"Ow, Nana-brat, if you're upset about what I said back then, I-"

"No...you were right," Nana replied with a sad smile, "How could I save him if I don't even know how to swim myself?"

She scoffed at herself. "God. Part of me realizes how pitiful I'm being and it's just making me feel that much worse." She took a deep breath and wiped the water from her face, "What's worse is that I even knew this was going to happen. We've even talked about it before."

"That what was going to happen?" Franky asked.

"That he was going to move on," Nana stated and let out a mirthless laugh. "You know, earlier today I wondered why I was jealous towards Camie but never towards Nami or even Robin...but as soon as I saw Camie bring him up from the water I knew...It's because even though he flirts and dotes on Nami and Robin, underneath it all, they are still just his nakama...but Camie...She's...What did he call it? 'Mankind's lifelong fantasy'?"