Chapter Text
There was a time when Nami didn’t know what her dream was anymore.
Living through gruel years of deceiving, stealing, abusing people’s trust, her dream once so vibrant to the point of making her heart race, turned dull gray.
Was it because she simply lost hope at one point ? Or was it because her actions, born out of necessity to save what was left of what she held dear, slowly made her lose sight of who she was ?
Nami did not know. Occasionally, she thought that respecting and holding on to her rule of robbing only pirates, those abominable mongrels, only existed to give her good conscience. After all, she was doing just what they did. Stealing.
Or maybe it was the endless hours spent at her desk, forced to make maps, over and over again, for the sake of the very person responsible for her misery. Thus helping him ensure his influence and the terror he brought along with it all over east blue.
Perhaps that’s why crossing path with Luffy was both a tragedy and a miracle.
A tragedy as the sheer faith he had in his dream was testament of her having been robbed of the same opportunity to do so.
A miracle because it reminded her of a time she believed to be lost forever, when she could afford to dream.
It is a curious thing to experience, to rediscover that feeling of hope while knowing it is pointless in the end. After all, who could possibly go against Arlong ? He had the strength and the resources to bribe the Marines, securing his position in Cocoyashi village as a ruler as well as her tormentor.
It didn’t help to have Zoro and Usopp around, both with a dream in mind, ready to do anything to achieve it. That’s what hurt back then. They had the freedom to dream. She didn’t. She couldn’t.
That’s why when she saw that desk falling down from Arlong Park, Nami let her tears flow. She knew that Luffy, while an idiot, had this uncanny ability to perceive deeper meanings in all situations. However, she still didn’t expect him to realize that this desk, although just a piece of furniture to some, was the symbol of her shackles.
For many years, her wish to draw a map of the world was forced to become an unattainable fantasy. And yet, in one battle, Luffy had turned it into a feasible dream.
Hence she joined the crew. Because Luffy gave her back more than her freedom that day, he gave her back her dream.
She had imagined many times what her life would be if Arlong were to be defeated, or if she were able to buy the village from him one day. None of the scenarios that played in her head could do justice to what she felt as Luffy erupted from the fallen building, declaring in a deafening scream she was his nakama.
It would have been one thing to get her freedom back by her own means, it was another entirely when Luffy, whom she betrayed and pushed away, still went after her, and eventually freed her while knowing nothing of what she had been through.
Being a thief, she met plenty of people, some good, some terrible, but none were quite like Luffy. From the moment they met, she slowly realized he followed his own path on his own terms. From hating him for being a pirate, to doubting if he was a real one when she saw him give that box of pet food back to Chouchou, to seeing him win the hearts of people he only just met, in some way she started having some respect for him, admiration even. For what sane eighteen year old boy would set sail all alone with nothing but a dream ? And somehow managing to find a loyal crew and helping people, whereas he aimed for the title of the King of the pirates ? She knew then Luffy was one of those people that marched to the beat of their own drum. He just happened to be gifted with the most unbending will.
The sun high in the sky, Nami let herself feel the wind in her hair, smell the sea breeze, and smiled. Her eyes focused on the trio playing on the deck, on her captain in particular.
He wore his signature smile, reaching ear to ear and so wide his eyes seemed closed. As he proceeded to chase his fellow crew members in a game of tag, moving wildly with the help of his stretchy arms, she couldn’t help but feel the corner of her lips move upwards even more. She watched as Luffy went flying high before diving straight toward the frightened reindeer.
As Chopper screamed in terror following his capture while Usopp yelled « Cheater ! » at the top of his lungs, Luffy’s laugh boomed across the ship, and Nami knew then no one else but Luffy was fit to return her dream that fateful day.
For her captain is and will always be freedom personified.