"A strong marriage rarely has two strong people at the same time. It is a husband and wife who take turns being strong for each other in the moments when the other feels weak."- Ashley Willis
Hatchan, a heavy built man whose most prominent features were his protruding lips and pointy, spiky white hair, stood perched behind a corner with a camera in hand stalking out the assigned target.
'Nyuuu~' he sighed. He did not want to do this. It was not right. Hatchan did not agree with some of the things his company did but his boss was a dangerous man.
He looked to the apartment entrance, picked up his binoculars and saw the target walking in but Hatchan was confused since she was always escorted at this time at night by her husband. He grabbed a book and made a note, checking his watch.
He then felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to be met by a fist to the face and his head hit the wall, pounding in severe agony. His vision was distort and he collapsed. Just when he was about to lose consciousness, the last thing he saw was a pair of sandaled feet.
Hatchan awoke in a strange room and shied away from the bright light. The pain in his head went away a bit. He heard the click of a gun frighteningly close to his ears and immediately tensed up and his pupils shrank in fear. His eyes moved to the side and came in contact with a huge barrel of a gun and the wielder regarded him with the most menacing look he could muster up but if you looked close, you could catch the slight but obvious wobble of his legs.
Hatchi screamed and tried to scramble away but he was secured with rope to a chair. Hands and legs were banded so tightly, he couldn't move a muscle.
Chopper and Brook were seated at the table and Usopp told the young doctor to inform the rest of the group that their guest was now wide awake. Hactchan saw Chopper leave the room and his eyes fell on a skeleton-like old man sipping away at some kind of beverage.
'Yohohoho,' "A pleasant day to you, sir. Care for some tea?"
"Who are you people? Where is this place? What do you want from me?"
His mouth stitched up when the gun pressed against the side of his skull and a chill crept up his spine.
"Be quiet. We would like to know the same thing too. Who are you? And what business do you have with our captain's wife? Speak or else I'll-"
Usopp was rendered silent when the door slammed open and in came Luffy, hat shielding his eyes and behind him, the rest of the guys piled in; Franky, Chopper, Zoro, Sanji and Robin with his bag, camera and journals which contained all the information he had documented for weeks on Monkey D. Nami. Everything down to her schedules and routines and Hatchan began sweating bullets for he had been caught red-handed. The tension in the room was suffocating. All eyes were on him. The figure he recognized was that of the target's husband and Hatchan knew that he had stepped into an ants' nest.
Luffy observed him under the shadow of his strawhat. Just tonight, Nami said that for a while it felt like someone was following her, watching her every move but brushed it off saying that it was not a big deal. He had only wished that she would have told him sooner because when he checked after sensing a presence himself, he came upon this prick.
"Mr. Hatchan, is it?" Robin began.
"Hai?"
"We found some interesting things in your possession concerning a close friend of ours. Too detailed to be a stalker. Who do you work for?"
Hatchan gulped hard. "What things? Are you sure that they're mine? Maybe you have the wrong person."
He was scared but his boss would not forgive him if he sold him out. If he was clever enough, maybe he could easily get out of this situation.
"Cut the crap," said Luffy in a deep voice and he slowly walked over to Hatchan cracking his knuckles. The sound made Hatchan's stomach churn and one look at Luffy's face made him realize that he was in deeper shit than he bargained for.
Usopp lowered his weapon and stepped to the side; and like the others, he stood and watched. Whoever this creep was, better start talking.
'Nyuu~' "Y-You have the wro-" His shoulders shook in fear when another crack echoed in the silence of the room and his blood went cold.
"Please don't kill me!"
Luffy chuckled and took on a sadistic grin and the veins above his brows, showed.
"Oh? I see that you value your life. That's good. That's great. Don't worry- I won't kill you."
"You won't? Thank G-" Hatchan's words caught in his throat and he sank deep in his chair when he saw Luffy's frown and the rising of his clenched fists before charging at him.
"How does breaking every single bone in your body sound?!" Luffy shouted and Hatchan was sure that his life flashed before his eyes just when Luffy's balled up fist stopped mere centimeters from his face. He gasped and clamped his eyes shut but the impact never came. He looked to see his attacker being held back by a guy with moss green hair and a guy smoking a cigarette. He was saved. Or was he?
The captain struggled against them. "What are you doing? Let go of me! Now!"
"Luffy," Zoro said," I know that you have right reasons to be mad right now-"
"Damn straight!"
"You need to calm down, Luffy," said Sanji.
"To hell with calming down! Let go of me, dammit!"
Zoro and Sanji were having a hard time holding him down so Zoro nodded to Franky and the inventor opened the door and together, the swordsman and the cook dragged the angry ball of energy out the room and into the aquarium space.
Luffy settled down some and upon entering the room, broke free, took a few steps forward and sank to the floor, tugging at his hair in frustration and looked up to his friends with a deep frown.
"Why did you stop me?"
Zoro folded his arms and spoke first,"You are our captain, Luffy."
"What does that have to do with this?"
"The others were looking on," the swordsman pressed and Luffy's face softened. He understood.
"I apologize. It's just that... Nami. What if...?"
"What if we had left on our mission and they got a chance to take her away without your knowledge? That's what you're thinking, right?" Sanji said.
Luffy nodded and he leaned forward with a hand covering his face and his voice cracked as he spoke," I don't want to lose her. I don't want to lose anyone else that I care about. And now some bastard wants to take her away. Just thinking about it, I don't think that I'd ever forgive myself."
Zoro and Sanji exchanged looks.
"Where's Nami-san now, Luffy?"
"She's home."
"And she's safe and sound, right?"
"Right."
"Therefore, there's nothing to fuss about. And we'll help you keep it that way. All we need to do is for that shitty bastard to tell us who his boss is and all we have to do is change his mind."
"And if anything were to happen to Nami," Zoro began," We know that she wouldn't let anything happen to her without a fight. That wife of yours is a tough gal. And whatever happens, she'll trust you to save her from anything. We'll help too. We're comrades."
The dark cloud that shrouded over Luffy's head disappeared into thin air and Luffy blinked up at them. His friends were the best any man could ask for.
He skinned his teeth. "Thanks guys. That made me feel better. Both of you are right."
The two smiled at him.
"You need to have more faith in us, captain."
"I hate to say this but the marimo is right."
"Wanna say that again, Swirly cook? I dare ya," Zoro scowled, fingers inching for his blades and Luffy laughed. Just when he thought he was witnessing the rare moment of them getting along. Some things never changed.
A knock came on the door and Robin opened up along with the rest of the crew and they were glad to see their captain in high spirits again.
"Are you okay now, Luffy?" Chopper asked.
"Yeah. Couldn't be better."
Robin cleared her throat. She had something to announce. "Now that we are all here, I'd like you to know that as soon as you guys left, our little guest didn't hesitate to spill the beans. A smart man he turned out to be," she mused and she locked eyes with Luffy," The name of his boss is Arlong. President of 'Arlong and Company.' An architecture business that's well off."
Luffy stood with knotted brows,"What does he want with Nami?'
Yeah. What does Arlong want with Nami? Good question, Luffy.
Well you see, as mentioned before, he ran a successful architecture firm. His company needed someone with verse geographical and cartography skills to help with plot choices since according to the areas they have built on before, resulted in too many disasters and failures which meant a substantial loss of funds.
During the search for a suitable candidate, they discovered Nami a little bit over a year ago. An outstanding prospective employee and though he sent letters promising a hard-to-resist salary, she ignored each one. It had been rumoured that she strictly worked for herself- a fact that did not matter to him. Every passing second, he was losing precious money. And a loss of money meant a loss of power.
Kidnapping her was an exploitation of human rights. And yes, it was unethical. Taking someone by force was not something that would run through the mind of a sane human being but the last time he checked, he was far more superior than mere humans. In fact, he had a gold toilet at home and he had ordered new silver spoons which should be arriving tomorrow. It better since he paid extra for one day shipping. Life was good but he was getting off topic...
That's right. First, they'll kidnap her, isolate her from civilization for a while, threaten her; you know: scare her a little. Let her know that she belonged to him. Sure she could have whatever it was she wanted. He understood that women were needy creatures.
He gave her the opportunity to work to the point where she could retire in a month but unfortunately, now she would have to work for him for free. If she resisted, he had his ways.
Now who were the people she was closest to? That childhood friend of hers who lived a couple of countries away? Nah. A waste of money. What about her adopted parents? Sources said that she was closest to her mother and if his memory served him right, Bellemere was her name. But he had a better idea.
The day of the award ceremony, he was there seated in the audience. Although he despised being among the lowlifes, his initial aim was to seek out a different cartographer to take the job. It was an international competition so the winner could only be the best of the best and that's how he liked it. Anything less than that was not worth his time. And as if it was a stroke of luck, the winner, the best of the best, turned out to be her.
But what he was getting at was what she said. Who it was that she acknowledged the most. Who she called her everything, her number 1. How pathetic. How could this woman of such prestige rather settle down and become some pitiful housewife than work for his company? He felt sorry for her. Just like he would feel sorry for her when he threatens her with the safety of her husband's life. It will work. His plan was perfect.
She will eventually cooperate because, who wouldn't do anything for their 'everything'? To be honest, he comprehended this concept. For years, he was guilty for doing anything for money. His main source of power; his everything. And this time around, he didn't mind getting his hands dirty one more time. And he would not feel an ounce of regret. It was simple. He gave her an opportunity of a lifetime. She ignored it. Therefore, her impending fate would be all her fault.
Though he only wanted Nami for her talent, he will do her a favour and treat her as a respected subordinate of his and will do whatever it took to have her on his team.
He did not have to worry about the police, nor the government. He had bribed a certain department and Sergeant Nezumi did a fantastic job keeping his activities on the low.
Arlong always deemed himself as an astoundingly smart man. He made sure he did his homework on those relatively close to Nami. Namely her husband. Junior manger of Monkey D. Corp, a banana company. The irony was rich. In other words, no one important.
He unknowingly made a mistake. A huge one and boy, was he in for a ride.
Luffy listened intently to each word as Robin spoke of Hatchan's confession about the plan to kidnap his wife. His blood boiled but he kept his cool.
"Turns out that this 'Arlong' character has quite the history," said the archaeologist.
Franky intervened," What are we going to do?"
"Your move, captain," Zoro said and everyone agreed.
Luffy placed both hands on his hips and looked at each member of his crew and flashed a conniving grin.
"I have a plan."
That same night, Arlong and his friends were having a meeting to perfect their upcoming motive. He had to excuse himself since he got a strange call from his office from Chew, his secretary, saying that his half-sister was on the phone to him. They weren't on good terms and haven't spoken for years but when he arrived, there was no sign of the secretary nor was there anyone waiting for him on the phone and he left the office with his nose flared; angered by the unnecessary disturbance.
Little did he know that Chew laid unconscious under his desk and a tall figure with an afro stepped out of the coat closet as soon as the door slammed shut, sipping on his freshly poured tea. It was a shame, he was hoping to meet a female secretary but was utterly disappointed.
He pulled out his phone and when the person on the other side of the line picked up, he said:
"He's on his way."
Arlong turned the knob of the meeting room and he stiffened at the gruesome sight of his fallen, bloodied brethren. He knelt over Shioyake and was relieved to see that he was still breathing. The same could be said about the rest of them- Take, Pisaro, Kaneshiro and Hirobi- but they were all beaten to a pulp.
The president was consumed by rage. What on earth happened here?
Shioyake coughed and cracked open his eyes. "Arlong-san *cough* *cough*. Boss, is that you?"
"Yes, Shioyake. Who did this to all of you? Tell me! I'll hunt them down and I'll kill them!"
"No boss. These guys are demons. Save yourself, boss. Run."
"What do you mean? Shioyake stay with me!"
"Run..." And he passed out.
He took off his tie and wrapped it around his friend's wound that looked like it had been gashed with the back of a sword. Whoever did this was going to pay.
He happened to glance up and his eyes widened at a strawhat wearing man who sat seated at the table just staring back at him, leaning back with his arms behind his head , sandaled feet folded on the expensive table he paid good money for. He did not even notice the bloke when he walked in.
"So you're Arlong," he said standing up and flexed his arms.
"You..." Arlong seethed.
"Nice nose," said the strawhat wearer. Oh how he was going to enjoy breaking it.
"Did you do all this?" Arlong asked. His teeth began to hurt from the gnashing.
"Nope. But you're gonna love what I'm about to do to you," the stranger said cracking his neck.
"Who the hell are you?"
Arlong received a challenging glare.
"Does Monkey D. Luffy, ring a bell?"
The president's eyes opened wide and with haste, pulled out a gun from his back pocket but before he could use it, it was suddenly shot right out of his hand. Arlong cried out in pain, holding his almost sprained wrist. His eyes picked out the figure of a long-nosed guy with curly hair, behind a door for a split second and he watched it quickly close back. His gun was flung to the far side of the room and he had to do something fast because the Monkey Bastard was getting closer.
"Sheesh. Did you guys see the size of that guy?" Usopp said putting his pistol away. "I think he looked at me square in the eyes. I nearly crapped my pants." He turned to see Chopper staring at him. "But he looked weak. If Luffy allowed it, I could have defeated all these thugs on my own. A piece of cake," he said rubbing under his nose in a hero's stance.
"So cool, Ussopp!" The young doctor cried. Usopp was fearless.
"Now where was I?" the marksman said pulling out his seat," Do you have any Kings, Zoro?" he asked and picked up his cards. Franky, Sanji and Chopper were also playing while Robin sat reading an ancient history book.
"Go Fish. My turn. Oi cook. Do you have any Queens?"
"You damn marimo. How dare you take away my mellorines?"
The crew sweat-dropped. Sanji always had Queens when they played this game. Though it was a well known fact, the crew sometimes went easy on him but Zoro never showed mercy.
"Just cough them over. It's not my fault you're so shit at this game."
Sanji grumbled and tossed the ladies over at him. "You know," he said blowing out a trail of smoke. "That guy's putting up quite a fight."
In the background, the sound of hand to hand combat could be heard as well as the occasional battle cries. Sanji was impressed.
"It'll be over soon," Zoro said nonchalant while yawning. He shuffled through his cards thinking about which card he should ask for next.
"You're probably right... Hurry it up. You're slowing down the game!" said the cook then he paused when he heard silence. "Robin-chan, you're up next."
The archaeologist nodded, closed her literature and got up to join her captain.
Arlong laid battered and wheezing on the cold, marble floor. Everything hurt. Even in places he did not think was possible. His mind ran on nothing more than sweet revenge.
"Damn you! Don't think that this is the last time you'll hear from me. I will have my revenge!"
Luffy stood unfazed above the scum, thoroughly satisfied. Then Arlong saw a woman walk in with a clipboard in her hand.
"Robin. How soon will Smoky get here?"
"In the next 20 minutes or so but he said that he does not want to see you by the time he arrives."
'Shishishi' "Right, right."
"Who?" Arlong asked.
"Lieutenant Smoker," said Robin, refreshing his memory," Unfortunately, you're under arrest. I did some research on your company and it's a surprise that its been able to run for so many years. You're a criminal."
"So what? You don't have any proof!"
"Oh yes we do. And don't worry about your partner, Nezumi. He too will be going behind bars."
Arlong could only close his eyes in defeat. All those years it took to build his empire. All that effort: gone. He had barked up the wrong tree. Just who the hell were these people?
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The night before Luffy's departure came and Luffy and Nami laid in bed facing each other. Nami stared amused at her significant other as he fought hard to keep his heavy eyelids open.
"Luffy... go to sleep. You have a flight tomorrow."
It was 11:00 pm and his flight was scheduled for 5:00 in the morning. Luffy was doing everything to stay awake.
"No. I'm not tired. You first."
"I don't have a flight in the next couple of hours. You do."
"Not tired." He stifled a yawn.
"So stubborn... I know. How about a song?"
"Try me. Whatever you do, it won't work cause I'm not tired."
Nami grinned at the challenge and hummed a little tune. Luffy blinked and he smiled and his wife mimicked his expression. It was beginning to work. 3 minutes after the little melody ended, to her surprise he was still awake. She watched him curiously as he inched closer towards her and he kissed her mouth then her forehead, lingering for a moment on each and when she opened her eyes, her smile fell for she was greeted by his sleeping face.
She did not want him to go to sleep so soon. Her throat burned and tears escaped both her eyes. Tomorrow, he'll be gone. And when he's gone, who was going to greet her in the mornings with a sweet smile and a kiss? Who was she to welcome home from work? To talk to and laugh with? Who was she to be silly with and who was going to be there to banish all her worries away with a simple embrace? Their remaining time together was not quite enough and tomorrow, he'll be gone.
Her running tears seemed to dry up when he called her name in his sleep and his hand went down the length of her arm and slipped into hers and Nami closed her fingers around it and relished the warmth.
"I'll miss you, Nami. All of you."
She brought his hand to her lips and she pressed her head against his, sniffled and closed her eyes. She could do this. Her husband married a strong woman and if the wives of policemen, firefighters and even soldiers could do it, she can too.
Nami sat up and wiped away her own tears and patted at her cheeks. She was overreacting.
She left bed and went over to his suitcase to have a look at what he packed. He said that they were going to a winter island and knowing him, he didn't think that packing to match the weather was that important. She found few socks, shorts?, and light, long sleeved shirts and a lone jacket as well as a few pairs of underwear. She smiled at his carelessness and set to work. Sifting through his closet and chose more suitable clothing adding more socks, underwear and even included vests, better pants and an extra thicker jacket and whatever she felt was necessary. Nami folded each neatly and was now at ease that he now had everything he needed.
She zipped the case up again and took a deep breath and flicked her hair behind her shoulders. She could do this. A notebook on the nightstand came into sight and after she wheeled his luggage back over to the door, locked off the light, crawled back in bed and hugged him from behind and gripped the fabric of his shirt that was above his beating heart. Feeling his hair in her face, she curled up snug next to him.
Nami wanted to remember his smell and his noisy way of sleeping and the warmth of his body against hers. Her hazel eyes hooded and she went to sleep.
She wanted to remember it all.
The crew was all packed and ready at the airport terminal and they watched on as Luffy and Nami bid farewell to each other; arms around each other's waists.
Zoro was getting irritated,"Oi, Luf-!"
Franky clamped his mouth shut cutting him off with his large hand with water running from his eyes. A few of the others put their fingers on their mouths glaring at the swordsman.
"Shut up, Zoro. Leave them alone. A heartless man like you will never understand their suuuper love."
Zoro pulled the guy's hand off his face,"But they're taking forever. How long has is been?"
"Only 5 minutes," Robin said smiling at the cute pair.
"Really?" Zoro was taken back. It felt like an hour. Franky was right. He would never understand. The captain took 2 weeks off from work to be with the wife before the flight and that seemed like a good ample amount of time to say a simple 'goodbye.'
Nami observed the bickering of the crew and mustered up a smile from her heart. Right now, she wished that she had the power to stop time.
"Looks like the guys are ready to go. Have a safe flight, okay? I'll see you when you get back."
Luffy's smile faltered and Nami upon noticing said, "What's that look for?"
"I want to change my mind. I don't want to go anymore. I prefer to stay with you, Nami."
She stared at him with a hopefully serious expression on her face. Deep down she wanted that too. But now she had to be strong. For him. This morning, she prayed for the strength.
"Luffy. Just moments ago, you were saying how excited you were for this mission. There's no need for a change of mind. I married the freest man in the world and I have so much respect for you." Luffy had told her that she inspired him but he was the most inspirational person she knew.
He touched her face then gathered her up close in his arms.
"I know that I've been waiting for this mission for a long time but I have come to realize that I don't want to leave your side. I want us."
Nami blinked her eyes rapidly. She promised herself that she wouldn't cry. And she planned on sticking to that promise.
"Your job's important."
"I know. I'm sorry that I have to leave you alone."
"Don't be."
"I can't love you if I'm hundreds of miles away. That's impossible. What should I do?"
Communication was going to be difficult. They were headed to a secluded place on the earth.
"I got it. I'll save all my hugs and kisses just for you, Nami. All of them."
And Nami laughed and placed her arms tight around him. She did not want to let go. God, she'll miss him too.
"I will look forward to that," she whispered then ran a hand through his hair and buried her face in his neck. She then started to release herself from him but he tightened his grip around her and she sweat-dropped.
"Luffy..."
"Three weeks. Three weeks is too much," he muttered more to himself and Nami caught the eyes of the crew and gave them an amused look. They snickered and Zoro and Sanji shook their heads with small smiles plastered on their faces. Lu-kun could be such a lovable fool.
Then they caught the look she gave them after she glanced over at Luffy and back at them. It was all in her eyes. A pleading look. And they understood and nodded firmly.
"Soon guys," she said.
"Train hard," said the swordsman.
"You don't have to tell me twice, Zoro." The marimo smirked and gathered his suitcase and the rest of his belongings and left the group to check in. Sanji had to hold him back because he was headed in the wrong direction.
She will be focusing on her training. Usopp had invented a tool she could use when she was ready that dealt with manipulating the weather and she had to work on getting better acquainted with it. By the time Luffy comes back, it would be around their one year anniversary. Another thing she was looking forward to.
"Soon," she said a bit quieter to her husband, taking his face in her hands and sent him off with a kiss.
Luffy sat next to the snoring swordsman all gloomy faced on the plane, clearly depressed. His fingers tapped impatiently on the armrest and he absentmindedly tasted his lips and felt himself calming down. Three weeks will come and go by fast. That's if only he and the crew did the job effectively then soon he will be back home with her.
He randomly checked his pants pants pocket hoping to find some gum or something to ease his nerves and his hands pulled out a rolled up sheet of paper. He straightened up when he recognized Nami's handwriting and his lips pulled to both corners of his face and his cheeks heated up. It read:
To my dearest husband,
Want to know a secret?
The first time we met, do you remember you smiled at me? That handsome smile of yours made me feel weird all over. And my unsteady heart prior to our meeting was acting funny. I thought that I had gone mad. When you smiled at me, she danced around my chest as if shouting,"That's him!"
When I was about to walk out on you, you held me back. Thank you for doing that because what a life I would have missed if I didn't give you a second chance. Then you seduced my heart a little more and when you asked me to marry you, she said again,"That's him."
On a whim, I decided to listen to my heart instead of the logics of my own head and after that, I couldn't stop thinking about you.
I remember hating the wait to speak with you again so imagine how happy I was when you called me for the first time that night. You called me everyday after that. Then when I overcame that initial hatred, a new one developed. I hated waiting to see you again. When I did, you held me close like you never wanted to let go. Then came another one but it was short-lived. I hated waiting to marry you, to share a life with you, to feel your very lips on mine for the first time.
I'm sorry that you married such an impatient wife. I'm working on it but what I really want to tell you is that I hate waiting. But if it's for you, I'll wait.
I love you, Luffy. I'll always love you. Don't you dare forget that.
-Your Na-chan
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
To be continued...
Author's Note: One more chappy left. Thanks to everyone who have read thus far. :)