Chapter Text
“I should’ve gone with my gut. Tssk… treasure map…”
With a mixture of disappointment and frustration Nami stood in the vast, but empty underground chamber. Some light of the hot desert sun shone through a convenient hole almost in the middle of the ceiling, making Nami’s torch pointless. Under said hole dry sand piled up. As the desert winds above blew, loose sand slowly rinsed down every now and then. Looking around, Nami couldn't quite decide if the incoming light didn't make the solid stone walls look more bleak instead of illuminated.
She rode all the way out here into the desert under a relentlessly burning sun just to find a chamber full of sand with not a single item in sight that could be considered rudimentary of value. When she got back to Nanohana and found that sly salesman again, she would let him have a piece of her mind for cheating the Cat Burglar. Instead of gold and gemstones she got dust and sand.
“This was a waste of time and good money.”, she huffed.
She was about to turn back around to the dark entrance corridor, when a sizable avalanche slid down the sandpile. Rinsing sand from above had made the peak too heavy to withstand gravity any longer. After the sand had stilled, something shimmering in the sun's light made Nami turn back again. Something golden.
“Maybe this wasn’t such a waste after all!”
Nami’s face lit up with anticipation as she went to kneel down beside the golden object. Plucking it out of the sand with one hand, she dusted it off a few times. It turned out to be an old oil lamp with some strange engravings, a wide handle attached to the oval vessel and an elegantly curved neck. From which now emerged strange purplish smoke, that oddly enough carried the smell of flowers with it.
“What is that stuff?”, Nami wondered, watching the smoke vanish into nothingness behind her.
She didn’t think much of it though and focused back on the pile of sand instead. Maybe there was more to find. The oil lamp was nice to look at for sure, but probably not worth much. Nami slipped out of her desert coat and started to dig deeper, shoving sand away with her bare hands.
“My, my, what do we have here? A fine looking young woman in the desert all by herself? Seems kind of reckless, especially with such a daring outfit.”
Nami visibly winced at the sound of a soft spoken female voice. Someone had followed her all the way to this secluded place under the sand? Just her luck, she guessed. And of course they would reveal themselves right after she found something of value here.
Slowly Nami stood up and turned to face what’s behind her. To her surprise it was just one woman. Well, not exactly just one woman. Tall, dark haired, with tanned skin and staggering blue eyes in a beautiful clear cut face which displayed an alluring smile, she looked absolutely breathtaking. She wore an outfit similar to Nami’s desert dancer clothes, but in more purple hues and without the silk shroud over her back, leaving her shoulders bare. The only piece of jewelry she wore was a pair of golden bracers around her wrists.
And yet she had the nerve to comment on Nami’s outfit while she wore almost the same herself? At least Nami had her coat!
Good looks aside, if she followed her to take her treasure, Nami wouldn’t let the mysterious woman get the better of her. She still had to test her new Clima Tact anyway and with a swift motion Nami took it out, ready to defend herself if needed.
“Who are you? What do you want?!”, she demanded to know.
Sharp eyes focused onto Nami’s staff for a split second, before her smile got a tad more mischievous.
“A little more tact wouldn’t have hurt, but since you asked: I would appreciate it if you could stop pointing such a dangerous object at me.”
Nami held the woman's gaze for a moment, then lowered her Clima Tact just enough that it wouldn’t be considered threatening.
“Splendid, now let us get to business and tell me what you want.”
“Say what now?! What I want?! It’s none of your business what I want!”
“Well, actually it is since I have to grant you three wishes.”, her voice was calm, patient and serious enough not to be questioned.
Nami looked at her completely dumbforted. Okay, this woman was good looking, very good looking, but absolutely nuts it seems like. Nami actually had to laugh out loud at such nonsense.
“Yeah, sure. You’re telling me, you’re some kind of genie that fulfills all my wishes?!”
“I said three and I’m going to repeat myself just once, so please keep it in mind.”
Still amused, Nami decided just to go with it. If by some crazy miracle this woman actually was what she pretended to be, Nami could solve all of Vivi’s problems at once!
“Okay, fine. How about this: I wish for peace in Alabasta!”, her tone was challenging, but the woman didn’t seem to budge.
“Peace? What a noble wish. I honestly thought of you as someone who would choose more material things, but well...”, the woman appeared to be positively surprised.
“Oh, a reward I would surely get from the king. Not just for bringing Vivi back home, but also for bringing peace along with her. And being Alabasta’s peacemaker would surely come in handy, too.”
Sharp eyes slightly narrowed at that. The woman's smile became somewhat sly.
“I see… If it’s peace you want, you shall get it.”
Nami watched as the woman crossed her arms in front of her, while she closed her eyes and gave a slight nod. Then she let her arms sink down again and looked back at Nami.
“Your first wish has been granted. Would you like to name your second?”
“Wait, that's it? No, mysterious mumbo jumbo, no sparkling smoke? Kind of lame, don’t you think?”
If the woman pretended to be a genie, Nami at least had hoped she would have put more effort into the special effects. For example, Usopp would have put up a much better show.
“Indeed it doesn’t work like that, my apologies.”
“Yeah, well, whatever. Don’t know what you’re doing, but I have enough of this place. From what I’ve seen I doubt that there’s treasure buried in the sand anyway.”, with that Nami put her Clima Tact away and her coat back on.
“I will accompany you of course. You found the lamp, so until I have fulfilled your last wish, you are my mistre…”
“Nope! Genie or not, we’re not going down this road!”, Nami rudely interrupted while blushing heavily.
“Are you sure? I kind of get mixed signals right now, but alas…”, the teasing glint of the woman's eyes dripped into her smooth voice. “What shall I call you then?”
“Nami! My name is Nami!”
“Very well, Nami.”
As her name fell from the woman’s lips a hot tingle ran down Nami’s spine. She would blame it on the hot weather. And the dry glub she swallowed in her throat definitely was a result of the dry desert air. Dry air, dry throat, makes sense!
“What’s your name?”, Nami managed to ask in return.
“Nico Robin.”
“Okay, Robin. Now let’s just leave already. I have to find a certain salesman and have a serious talk with him about faked treasure maps.”
There was this sly smile again, like Robin knew something she didn’t.
“I’m certain this endeavor will be entertaining to observe. Just please take the lamp with you. Otherwise I can’t accompany you, since unfortunately I have to stay in a certain vicinity of it.”
She’s really going through with this whole genie act, isn’t she? Okay whatever. Instead of treasure Nami got a sexy crazy lady, she could deal with that. Hold up a second… When exactly did Nami decide she would take Robin back to Nanohana with her?! How did that happen? But she couldn’t just leave her here, could she? Then again, she had followed her to this place by herself, so Robin would be fine without her. And now she was confused, must be the heat.
Nami shook her head vigorously, then took a big swing from her water flask. After a short moment of consideration she held it out to Robin, but the woman just declined with a graceful motion of her hand.
“Thank you, but I don’t need any kind of nutriment.”
“Suit yourself.”
After putting the flask away Nami went to grab the oil lamp. Not because Robin said so, but because she intended to sell it. Even some money was better than nothing. When she lit her torch again to leave the chamber through the dark corridor, Robin silently followed behind her. Back under open sky and burning sun Nami threw the coat’s hood over her head. The midday sun literally would burn her alive, if she’s not careful.
Turning around she witnessed the wide eyed look in Robin's eyes as she took in their surroundings in what must be awe. Nami noticed how the fingers of one hand slightly touched the bracer on the other arm. When Robin realized how Nami was watching her, she let the hand sink back to her side and her expression changed to a polite smile with a more neutral expression.
“One may think inside the lamp you wouldn’t notice how time passes you by… Let’s just say it has been a long time since I last saw the sun. It would be lovely to truly feel it too, but I guess beggars can’t be choosers.”
It was probably just half an hour, woman! And speaking of the sun, not even a single drop of sweat Nami noticed on her. Must be her tan, yeah that's it. Nami didn’t dignify Robin’s strange sentences with an answer and just turned around to their camels… her camel… just Lashes…
“Wait, how did you get here?!”
Instead of an answer Nami received a slightly amused smile from Robin.
Murmuring some incomprehensible curses Nami saddled up on Lashes. With a prompting look she then held her arm down so that Robin could get up, too. The woman's hand gripped her clothed arm securely and Nami was surprised at how cold Robin's bare skin felt to her touch as Nami helped her.
Granted, by now Nami was sure something was up with this woman, but she was still not believing this whole genie crap! Even for the Grand Line this would be a tad too much!
Lashes sure had no problem carrying the two of them. Nami was convinced he was living the dream all the way back to town, while she felt kind of trapt in the peculiar silence that shrouded Robin and her. Much of her unrest may have to do with the fact that Robin sat very close behind her right now. She herself was brooding over the whole situation, while Robin just seemed to enjoy the dull scenery of dust, sand and occasionally a rock.
Back in Nanohana, they rode into an empty town. All the way to the sprawling marketplace they saw no person at all. Even the market itself was bare of any people. Everyone was probably indoors due to the midday heat. So the salesman was in luck for now at least. To Nami’s demise she would have to wait with selling the lamp, too.
At the Going Merry Nami parked the camel at the empty docks to get onto the ship. She tried her best to just ignore Robin who was strolling behind her. Despite all her strangeness Nami somehow couldn’t find it in her to tell Robin she should leave her alone though. At least Sanji would be more than happy to swirl around the woman, when he and Vivi came back.
Standing on deck Nami was surprised how quiet the ship felt. Even with Vivi’s advice to keep their heads down, Luffy surely would have found a way to bring at least one marine captain onto their tails by now.
“Guys, I’m back!”, Nami announced loudly.
No answer.
Were they all sleeping under deck or something? Zoro was for sure dozing around somewhere, but all of them?! Nami searched in the common rooms her crew might stay during a hot day.
Nothing.
“Luffy?!... Zoro?!... Usopp?!... Chopper?! Where is everyone?!”
She thought of the empty town… The empty Merry…
Suddenly Nami felt as if she had been struck by lightning. She rushed back on deck where Robin had stayed by the railing to watch the ocean. Not minding her Nami went down the plank onto the still empty street by the docks. This couldn't be, could it? But even after randomly checking inside a few stores and even a tavern Nami didn’t find a single human soul. Nanohana was a ghost town.
Back on the street Nami faced Robin, who silently had followed her along. She seemed not surprised about the ghostly state of their surroundings.
“Robin! What the heck did you do?”
The woman in question didn’t seem fazed by Nami's outburst. She just politely smiled back at her, as if she had no clue what could have triggered Nami’s outrage. But the smug look in Robin’s eyes belied this impression.
“I fulfilled your wish, of course.”
“I said I wanted peace!”
“You did. Just listen…”, Robin spread her arms open in presentation of their surroundings.
It was quiet, calm. No boisterous shouting from Luffy and the others, which she would surely hear even from the docks. No busy noise from people scurrying around in their daily life routines. Just the sounds of the ocean waves, some of them splashing against the dock’s walls. Nami could hear how the wind blew warm air over the street. There were occasional noises from some animals here and there, mostly seagulls.
Peaceful indeed.
Nami’s eyes widened with the realization that right now she was probably the only person in the whole country.
“But… I didn’t mean it like that! I never said you should make everyone just disappear!”
Nami stood right in front of Robin by now, looking up at her furiously. Being bluffed once this day was one thing, but twice? That really made Nami's blood boil. And yes, okay, she had to admit that she was wrong about Nico Robin, the woman indeed was a genie... a rather treacherous one at that!
Entirely unimpressed by Nami’s warth, Robin just looked back down on her. Her eyes bore a perilous glint in them as she held Nami’s stare with ease.
“You never said I shouldn’t either. Your wording left a lot of room for interpretation. I merely worked with the vague instructions you provided me with.”
“You knew exactly what I meant! The upcoming war, Baroque Works, Sir Crocodile!”
“I knew that you meant to fix all problems in the least demanding way for you to be rewarded with money and renown. That the princess also would get the long awaited peace she hoped for would only have been a pleasant side effect.”, Robin’s tone had a cold calm to it, her eyes were piercing.
Nami was taken aback by these words. Robin was wrong! Well, at least she wasn’t entirely right... Nami truly wanted to help Vivi first and foremost. But wanting to exert as little as possible while still being generously rewarded wasn't asking too much, was it?!
“You are no different than everyone before you. Even if there is some noble cause behind it, the core of peoples wishes is what is most beneficial for their own selfish interests. Always wealth, power or glory. I found I had a way to teach them a lesson and even if said lesson wouldn't take root in their narrow minds, at least it is always quite entertaining to observe how they deal with what they got.”
“So, you’re just tricking people!”, Nami summed up, her voice condemning.
“Do you really want to lecture me about this particular topic, Cat Burglar?”, Robin just raised a perfect eyebrow in challenge, a lofty smile on her lips.
"How do you know about..."
Rather of questioning how the woman knew about Nami's epithet, Robin's smile fuled her anger. It took all of Nami’s willpower to stay somewhat calm. Her dismay really just seemed like some kind of twisted entertainment for Robin.
Nami stepped out of the woman's personal space and took a deep breath. She wasn't going to give her any more satisfaction, she could continue to fume later. First of all she had to bring her friends back into existence.
Absent-mindedly she pulled out the oil lamp, looking at it while weighing out her options. Revoking her first wish would be the safest one. For a moment Nami considered adding something to it. Maybe she could combine bringing everyone back and fix Alabasta’s brink-of-war like state in one go. Too risky, she decided. She had to play this one safe, who knows how Robin would twist her wish otherwise.
“I want to claim my second wish.”
“Go ahead.”, at Robin’s smug undertone Nami had to fight the urge to blow up again.
“I want to revoke my first wish. I want my friends back and everyone else for that matter. Everyone should be in the same state and place as before, like nothing has changed.”
“Very well.”
Again Robin closed her eyes as she crossed her arms in front of her, giving a slight nod. And just like that, the noise basically exploded around them.
“...njiiiiiiiiiiiii! I’m hungry! I want some meat!”
“Stop screaming around, Luffy! Curly’s not back before evening!”
“But I’m hungry NOW!”
“Then stop whining, grab a rod and help Usopp fishing!”
“You both be quiet! You scare away the fish!”
“Usopp’s right, be quiet Zoro!”
“He meant you too, idiot!”
“Guys… I can smell Nami. She’s back and someone is with her.”
The first thing Nami saw of Luffy were his fingers which grabbed the railing to catapult himself down onto the dock. The others strolled down the plank, like normal people, after their captain. Curious eyes instantly rested on Robin, while Nami put the lamp back into her coat.
“Hey, Nami! Did you find any treasure? Can we eat the camel? Who’s your new friend?”
“Hey. No. No. Nico Robin.”, Nami crudely answered and Luffy’s attention switched to Robin.
“I’m Luffy! Do you have something to eat?... Ouch! Why did you hit me, Nami?!”
“Could you stop thinking of food for just one moment?!”
“But I…”
“...am hungry, we know!”, four Straw Hats moaned in perfect unison.
Suddenly a new sound could be heard. It sounded very much like a chuckle. A little reserved maybe, but it was definitely a chuckling noise. Looking beside her, Nami indeed saw it was coming from Robin who had just observed the entire scene.
“You sure are a lively bunch.”, she commented in a rather amused tone. “And you seem to have a nice ship.”
This got Usopp's full attention and he suddenly straightened up his posture, giving Robin a slight bow.
“I’m the great captain Usopp and you’re obviously a woman with an eye for great quality! Since you’re also a friend of Nami, I would gladly show you our mighty vessel, the Going Merry!”
“Wait, she’s no…”
“It would be my pleasure, great captain Usopp.”
And just like that, Robin had left Nami’s side to follow Usopp onto the ship as he was wholeheartedly excited to show off and talk about the Going Merry. Chopper followed them, even if he couldn’t quite decide if he should be curious or scared of Robin, which seemed to switch on a moment to moment basis.
Apparently the oil lamp’s radius in which Robin was able to move included at least the whole ship…
“She seems to be nice.”
“She seems like trouble.”
Of course Luffy was as naive as ever. Zoro on the other hand didn't even have the slightest idea about how close to the truth he was at the moment. Nico Robin was trouble, like a whole damn lot of trouble. Nami decided then and there that she would create the perfect wish. Her last one wouldn’t have any loopholes Robin could use to trick her and twist her wish into something sinister like she did with her first one. Speaking of her first wish…
“By any chance, did you guys notice that you basically ceased to exist for the last... two and a half hours more or less?, Nami asked as they got back onto the ship as well.
“Yeah… pretty much describes how hungry I am…”, Luffy’s growling stomach just underlined his words.
From Zoro she just received an odd look: “You’ve got a sunstroke or something? You’re sure talking weird stuff…”
“Just forget it.”, annoyed Nami just waved it off as her eyes wandered back to Robin who followed a rambling Usopp around the deck, listening to his most likely exaggerated stories about their ship and himself as a captain.
Yeah, she would beat Robin in her own game by creating a wish that would fix all of their problems, even fulfill their dreams and Robin would have no other way but to grant it in the way Nami wanted her to!