Romance Dawn (ON HOLD)

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

"IS THAT them?!" a faint voice called from the end of the shore where Nami was staring off to. The two had agreed to go to the said place in hopes of finding them there and luckily they actually did. Luffy flashed a bright smile as he recognised the group of people approaching the shoreline, running towards them with his arms extended.

"Miss Nami!!!" Sanji excitedly leaped off the ship and made his way to the orange haired girl. She smiled and watched him do his weird noodle dance. He blinked, noticing that something was off, and looked behind her where her cut hair was. "Y-Your hair...!"

On the contrary, Zoro was half asleep once Usopp and Chopper started cheering. He had been clutching his swords for a while now as he slept on their way to the island. Chopper came running towards Nami and gave her a warm hug. His soft brown fur touched her fair skin as he flung his arms around her neck. "Nami! Are you alright?"

"Yeah, we're good." she happily replied, not showing a faint bit of the trouble she and Luffy went across earlier. She had her wanted poster though, just in case they needed it somehow.

"Hey Usopp!" she ran towards him, holding the Clima Tact of hers.

"Yo," he cheered. "oh, Nami! Your hair!?"

After moments of bickering with Zoro, who also pointed out her hair and how ugly it was, she turned her attention to Usopp. "Can you do me a favour?"

The old woman from the previous island stayed in the ship as she watched them greet one another. She never got unnoticed by Luffy, though. "Oh, you brought the old lady with you?"

"Stop calling me that!"

Luffy laughed, his shoulders bouncing up and down. His whole act was being eyed by Nami, who was thinking about the things he said to her just before the others arrive. She recalled how he got angry for such a simple thing that he should have expected from his friends. For a second she thought he was belittling him, but she tossed away the thought. Nami grimaced. There was something inside her that told her to stop whatever she was doing and she obeyed.

Zoro walked to her direction. "Are we getting some food, Nami?"

Her eyebrow twitched at the question. "What makes you think we're getting some?!"

"We can't just take stuff from our loot, can we?"

He had a point there. Nami grimaced and flapped her hands. "Yea..."

An explosion was heard from the town. Smoke rubbled upwards and caught their attentions, with Usopp making a screech sound with Nami's weather staff. Luffy instinctively ran his way there as Nami called him out angrily. She grunted. Zoro, on the other hand, who was deliberately holding back his laughter, followed his captain on his way to the town. It was not long before Usopp and Chopper did so, much to Nami and Sanji's annoyance.

"What the hell are you all running there for?!" he growled, his curly eyebrow tipping upwards. He turned to the orange haired girl who was looking worried. "Miss Nami, are you alright?"

"H-Huh? Yeah...I'm fine." of course she wasn't. Her mind was clouded by the thoughts of a certain boy who had a scar underneath his left eye.

Soon enough, though, the two found themselves going after the others who went on ahead. Nami huffed and puffed as her hair bounced along the wind. Sanji, on the other hand, was keeping their gap close by slowing himself down. The desert was still hot, but sunset was coming. Cold winds started blowing against their faces although sand particles still found their way to Nami's eyes, which she absolutely hated. They finally reached the town. Fire was set ablaze on some of the shops and people were panicking. On a distance, there were Luffy and Chopper looking for Zoro, and Usopp looking overwhelmed. Sanji pulled Nami back as he stepped into the scene, looking over at her.

Nami hated it. For years she had been useless for nobody else but the queen. Just recently she retaliated against a sketchy man who happened to be a Devil Fruit user, and it brought a sense of pride into her. It was a nice feeling although they being threatened at the same time was not delightful at all.

As she watched Sanji help some people out of the town, Nami can't help but feel bad for not being able to do anything to help. She looked around her. Chopper and Sanji helping people out. Luffy and Usopp pouring water on the fire. Nami grimaced before coming up with a bright idea. She ran a few metres away from the fire, with the Clima Tact on her hand. She spun it around her fingers as orbs of hot and cold air came floating upwards over the fire. Once she pressed a button on the staff, sprinkles of water started falling down from the clouds. It prickled the fire, but it wasn't heavy enough to extinguish it.

"Nami!" Chopper called from behind as Usopp found his way towards her. "Get away from there!"

"I'm..." Nami whimpered as Luffy then appeared beside her, who happened to miraculously get the idea. He then told Usopp to get back for she was preparing to throw in her final move.

An enormous fluff of cloud hovered the fire, much to Nami's satisfaction for she was aiming for it the whole time. The heat of the fire helped her cool balls condense as they rose up to the air. Now she can take out the fire with little to no effort. She spun her baton some more, as numerous balls of cold air rose up to the cloud, making it appear swollen. "A little bit more..." She huffed and continued doing her thing despite the heat and Sanji's calls from behind. With another cluster of cool balls that made their to the clouds, Nami twirled her Clima Tact for the last blow.

"Rain Tempo!" With this, Nami was able to conjure rain from the already existing cloud by creating cool balls she sent into the cloud. Heavy rain started pouring down, slowly extinguishing the fire. Nami walked backwards until she reached where the others were standing and they were all watching what she did in awe.

"Amazing," Chopper gasped, his eyes twinkling in the process.

Sanji tapped her by the shoulder and bent his body downwards.  "Miss Nami, I apologise for not thinking that you can handle yourself."

Nami chuckled and gently pressed an end of her baton on his head. "It's fine, really."

Luffy suddenly blurted out a question that sent the rest of his crew to panic. "Where's Zoro?"

A few moments later, the fire was not as destructive as it was before. Black marks on the sand were still in tact, though, and the aftermath of it made Usopp frown. Houses and shops were destroyed by the fire, and some were almost swallowed down to ashes.

"That shitty swordsman," Sanji clicked his tongue the moment he got up and lit his cigarette.