"I just want someone to dry my hair like she did. Without me having to ask."
Takuya pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Then that's what you'll have. Whenever you need it. No asking required."
Nami closed her eyes. The music box had wound down, the cabin silent except for the soft lap of waves against the hull and the slow, synchronized breathing of two people holding each other.
Nami's eyes fluttered open. The tears had dried on her cheeks, but her voice was raw, barely above a whisper.
"Why?"
Takuya's hand paused on her back. "Why what?"
"Why am I always the one kept at arm's length?" She pulled back just enough to look up at his face. Her eyes were red, her nose running, but she didn't care anymore.
"You call me 'navigator.' Not Nami. Just navigator. Robin gets head pats, you look after her like she's the most precious among us. Vivi gets intimacy too. Mira gets whatever she wants. I get… a title. You never even call me by my name."
Her voice cracked.
"Why don't I get your love? Your care? Your attention? Even Mira gets more than me. She's just… Mira. And I'm—" She swallowed. "I'm nothing to you."
Takuya looked at her. His face was calm, not angry, not soft. Just honest.
"You want to know why?"
She nodded.
"Because I've always been open to you, Nami. From the very beginning. But you're the one who built walls."
She opened her mouth to protest, but he kept going.
"You didn't trust me. You called me a drug dealer. You threw every wrong name at me you could think of. You kept your distance, made excuses, pushed me away every chance you got."
His voice was flat, matter-of-fact. Not cruel. Just true. "I've been standing on the other side of those walls, waiting. But I'm not going to break them down for you. That's your job."
Nami's breath stopped.
"Do you really think I'll keep chasing you," he said, "When all you ever do is build more walls between us? I'm not starved for love, or lust, or sex, or attention. I don't need to chase someone who keeps shutting me out."
He shifted, letting her feel the weight of his words.
"Robin and Vivi and Mira—they don't have walls. They let me in. They trust me. That's why they get what they get. Not because I favor them. Because they don't spend every day waiting for me to hurt them."
He paused.
"You never even apologized. Not really. You called me a drug dealer. You expected me to be a saint—me, a pirate. What part of 'pirate' says 'do good for others'? You kept me at arm's length for weeks, and you never once looked me in the eye and said you were wrong. You want me to forget all that? Just like that?
On Drum Island, you almost died. If you hadn't kept me at arm's length, your life wouldn't have been at risk at all. How long has it been since Alabasta? You hopped on my ship because it was convenient—because it was better than being the only woman on a ship full of idiots.
Still, I looked after you. I gave you these gifts, brought you closer to Belle-mère. And you never apologized. Not once. You acted entitled the whole time. So tell me—why would I keep you close?"
Nami's face crumpled. But no tears came. She was too empty for tears.
"You're right," she whispered.
He waited.
"I called you those names. I kept my distance. I built walls." She pressed her forehead against his chest. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. Not because I want your attention. Because I was wrong. About you. About everything."
She looked up, her eyes meeting his.
"I don't know how to stop building walls. I've been doing it since I was ten," she whispered. "Ever since that day. But I'll try. If you'll let me. I'll try."
Takuya studied her face for a long moment. Then he reached up and brushed a strand of hair from her cheek.
"One wall at a time," he said. "Start with this one."
He tapped her chest, right over her heart.
Nami nodded, sniffled, and laid her head back down.
"Okay," she whispered. "One wall at a time."
She kept her head on his chest for a long while after that. Her breathing slowly steadied, and the storm of tears finally began to subside. But she didn't fall asleep. She just lay there, listening to his heartbeat, thinking.
Then, very slowly, she pushed herself up onto her elbows. Her face was still swollen and tear-streaked, but her eyes had changed. There was a quiet resolve in them now, not the fierce, competitive fire she usually wore, but something softer and more fragile.
"I know what I've done," she said quietly. "The names. The distance. The way I treated you like a threat when you never gave me a reason." She paused, her fingers curling into the blanket. "I now know what I did wrong. And I also know what I need to do now."
Takuya watched her, saying nothing.
"But I don't know how to stop," she admitted, her voice cracking. "I've been building walls for so long that I don't remember what it feels like to live without them. So I'm not asking you to fix me. I'm asking you to… be here. While I do it myself. Just don't leave. Please."
Her eyes met his, raw and honest.
"That's all I want. Your patience. Your presence. And maybe…" She swallowed. "Maybe hold me sometimes. So I remember why I'm breaking them."
Takuya studied her for a long moment. Then he sat up, gently took her by the waist, and lifted her into his lap. He settled her sideways against his chest, one arm wrapped securely around her back, the other reaching for the small tin on his bedside table.
He opened it. Inside were cookies—small, round, golden-brown, dusted with powdered sugar. Tangerine cookies.
"I made these," he said, holding one up to her lips. "Taste."
Nami opened her mouth and bit into it. The flavor hit her like a wave—sweet, tangy, warm. It tasted exactly like the tangerines she had grown with Bell-mère. The ones from the grove behind their house. The ones she had promised to plant all over the world.
Her eyes filled with tears again, but these were different. Softer.
"How did you—"
"It's a secret," he said simply. He fed her another cookie, then another. She chewed slowly, savoring each bite, her body relaxing against his.
When she finished, he placed the tin on her nightstand, next to the photo of Bell-mère and the music box.
"One box for now," he said. "There's more when you need them."
Nami looked at the tin, then at him. She didn't say thank you. The word felt too small.
Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her forehead to his.
"Okay," she whispered. "Let's get to work."
Takuya nodded, his hand rubbing slow circles on her back.
"We have a sky island to reach."
The cabin door opened softly. Nami stepped out onto the deck, her face washed clean, her eyes still a little red but steady. She had changed into a dry shirt and tied her hair back. The tin of tangerine cookies was tucked under her arm.
Vivi was fast asleep in Takuya's room. Robin stood at the railing, her back straight, her dark hair moving in the wind. She didn't turn when Nami walked by, but her hand reached out and briefly touched Nami's elbow. A small gesture. 'I'm here.'
Nami nodded and kept walking toward the helm.
The log pose was steady, pointing toward Jaya. She checked the wind, the clouds, the subtle shift of the currents beneath the hull. Her hands moved automatically, adjusting the sails, marking the chart. The rhythm of navigation calmed her. It was something she understood. Something that didn't build walls.
Behind her, the Dune Serpent cut through the waves. The Going Merry followed besides the Dune Serpant, its sheep figurehead bobbing.
On the other side of the ship, near the stern, Takuya stood alone. The area was empty—Mira was below deck with the sleeping Vivi, Robin was at the railing, and Nami was at the helm. He had a Den Den Mushi in his hand, the receiver pressed to his ear. The snail's face had taken on the features of a stern woman with glasses and short dark hair.
"—and that's the situation at Headquarters," Tashigi's voice crackled through the snail. "Fleet Admiral Sengoku is furious about Crocodile's defeat and the scandal that came out. They're keeping it quiet from the public at large, but internally, there's been a massive shake-up. The Warlord system is under review."
Takuya said nothing, just listened.
"Smoker san has been promoted to Commodore. But he has refused to accept the promotion for fake credits for things he didn't do. But the official records have updated him to Commodore rank.
He is fixated on you, and wants to get his revenge on you for making a mockery out of him and the navy in Alabasta, the mess you made out of the navy, all of them are strictly being reprimanded for what happened in Alabasta.
Luckily, none of them were terminated. And now, he requested to be assigned to track you and the Straw Hats. They gave him a new ship and a crew. We've already left Marine Headquarters. We are now heading toward the Jaya area."
Takuya's lips curved slightly. "Smoker san has chosen to chase you and strawhats, and will not rest until he catches you.."
"He's stubborn," Tashigi said, and there was a note of exhaustion in her voice. "Also, there's someone else. A woman. I don't have a name yet, but she's been asking a lot of questions about you."
Takuya's eyes narrowed. "Describe her."
"Tall. Dark hair. Wears a Marine coat but she doesn't seem to be formally attached to any branch. She has a tattoo on her left arm—I couldn't get a clear description. It's like nothing I've seen before, some kind of strange design."
Takuya's jaw tightened. He had never seen such a woman before in canon, "It seems the butterfly effect has finally started to take place.' he thought as he made it a point to know everyone who might be hunting him, especially when he didn't want any interruptions in his harem or in his leisure time..
"She's been seen in the same ports as you, always one step behind. Intelligence thinks she might be a bounty hunter or an undercover agent from another nation. But her questions are always about you. Always."
"Or a spy for the World Government," Takuya murmured. The possibility hung in the air like a blade.
"Possible," Tashigi agreed. "Be careful. She's not the only one. After Alabasta, a lot of eyes turned toward you. The mess you created in Alabasta is something everyone in the navy knows. You have painted a target on your back, everyone in the navy wants to go after you. The Straw Hats are being targeted as well, simply because they're traveling with you. Anyone who associates with you has become a target."
Takuya's expression didn't change. He had expected this.
"Let them look," Takuya said. "Anything else?"
Tashigi hesitated. "There's a rumor. About something hidden in a place that doesn't exist. The older officers laughed it off—called it a sailor's fairy tale. But there's a file in the archives. Extremely classified. I couldn't access it, and no one I asked would even acknowledge it exists.
I only heard whispers from a source I can't name. The World Government has kept something hidden for centuries. No one knows what. If you're heading toward that part of the sea..."
She trailed off, uncertain.
Takuya's eyes narrowed. "What part of the sea?"
"I don't know exactly. The whispers were vague. But whatever it is, the ones who know aren't talking. And the ones who laughed... they don't know anything at all."
Takuya nodded slowly. "Then I'll find out for myself."
"That's not good," Tashigi said, her voice sharp. "That's dangerous."
"Everything worth doing is dangerous." He glanced toward the helm, where Nami was adjusting the sails. "Keep reporting. I'll contact you when we reach the next island."
"Takuya—"
"Stay safe, Tashigi."
He hung up. The Den Den Mushi's eyes went blank.
Nami's voice rang out across the deck. "Land ho! Jaya, dead ahead!"
The island rose from the sea like a broken tooth—jagged cliffs, dense jungle, and on the eastern shore, the haphazard sprawl of Mock Town. Even from a distance, they could see the masts of pirate ships clustered in the harbor.
Robin walked to the bow, her eyes scanning the coastline. "It looks... rough."
"That's an understatement," Nami said, but there was no fear in her voice. Just calculation. "We anchor outside the harbor. I don't want to dock in that mess."
Takuya joined them at the railing. "Agreed. We'll take a small boat in. Robin, you're with me. Nami, you stay with the ship and keep an eye on Vivi and Mira."
Nami opened her mouth to argue, then closed it. She nodded. "Fine. But if you find any information about the Sky island, bring it back. And any gold."
"Priorities," Takuya said with a small smile.
Nami almost smiled back. Almost.
The Dune Serpent dropped anchor a safe distance from Mock Town. The sun was beginning to set, painting the sky in shades of orange and purple. Below deck, Vivi was still asleep. Mira sat beside her, humming softly.
Robin and Takuya climbed into the small rowboat. As they pushed off, Nami leaned over the railing.
The rowboat moved toward the island. Behind them, the Going Merry also dropped anchor. On its deck, Sanji watched the rowboat with narrowed eyes, his hand in his jacket, fingers brushing the photos.
'Jaya,' he thought. 'The game begins.'
Robin sat in the bow of the rowboat, facing the approaching shore. Takuya rowed behind her, his movements steady and silent. Neither spoke.
But as the island grew closer, Takuya's lips curved into a small, private smile. Not for Robin. Not for anyone watching. Just for himself.
He knew who was on this island. He knew what waited in the forests, in the bars, in the shadows of Mock Town. And more than that—he knew the path to the sky. The Knock Up Stream. The South Bird. The lies of Noland and the truth hidden above the clouds.
'Let them doubt,' he thought. 'I'll be the one to find it.'
He leaned back, closed his eyes, and let the salt wind wash over him.
Jaya. Then the sky.
A/N: If my story made you smile even once, that's a win for me. That's what I want to live for—brightening dull days and reminding people that joy still exists. My dream is to make a difference in someone's life through my stories, to someday reach a legendary level of storytelling, and spread as much happiness I can in this world, before I take my leave from this world.
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