Nick groaned as he placed the last of the supplies into their little boat. He stretched his back, trying to get the kinks out. He was tired from the party last night, everyone having stayed up until the crack of dawn, dancing, drinking, and filling their bellies full.
Something that was harder for some. Seriously, Luffy looked like he weighed about 400 pounds after all the food he ate. It was as impressive as it was disgusting.
Zoro, meanwhile, mostly drank booze. Apparently his poor stomach wasn't feeling up to a feast. Not that Nick could blame him, considering the pleas for death he made while on the toilet. But why he opted to drink what was essentially more poison instead, baffled Nick.
Nami also drank heavily, enough to force Nick to dance with her. He probably shouldn't have, considering his injuries, but it was worth busting the stitches a few times to be up close and personal with the jiggle.
And when Nami got to dancing, boy did they jiggle. Just thinking about it brought a smile to his face. A pervy smile, but a smile nonetheless.
It was nearly midday now, and everyone seemed eager to leave. Luffy to continue his adventure, Zoro to continue his goal, Nami to get away from Michi asking her to marry her grandson, and Nick, who couldn't wait to head to the next village and get a proper ship.
The Going Merry.
He knew they lost it at some point, having seen the image of their new ship, but Merry was the one he grew up with, and he couldn't wait to set sail on her.
That's also when they truly became pirates, with their own flag. Everything before then was basically just the prologue. It was almost time for the real story to begin.
Who was it they faced there again? Clueless Door? No that wasn't it. Why did Nick have to be so bad with names? Well, he was sure he'd remember it when he saw him. That butler fucker.
That would also be when they meet Usopp, the worst liar this side of the Grand Line. Nick remembered some of the lies he told, and couldn't believe any one would believe them. But of course, Luffy did, the gullible little idiot.
"Is that everything?" asked a voice to his left. Turning to see who it was, he was greeted to the tantalizing visage of none other than Nami. She stood there in another new outfit. Now she was wearing a low cut, white shirt that showed part of her slender stomach, along with a short, orange, breezy skirt that showed off dem legs.
"Yeah, I think so. Zoro's bringing up the last of it now. You look good by the way," he told her. She gave him a little smile, "Thanks. A few of the girls in town gave me some clothes for the road."
Those girls were saints, at least to Nick. After all, the more outfits Nami has to wear, the more Nick could appreciate just how fine she was. Variety is the spice of life.
They could see the last two members of their motley crew make their way towards them. Luffy was munching on a bone, and Zoro was hefting a large sack over his shoulder. Behind them was Boodle, Michi, and Chouchou there to see them off.
"Alright, that's everything," said Zoro, heaving the sack into their boat. Luffy and him would be taking their own little dinghy while Nami and Nick had their own, much roomier ride. They would be tied together so they wouldn't get separated.
Sometimes, crime does pay. Wait, was it still a crime if you stole from criminals?
Nami was sure to say no. That was her modus operandi after all, and she didn't consider herself a criminal. A thief for sure, but not a criminal. Nick wasn't so sure, but figured it wasn't worth arguing over.
Although, Nami was pretty hot when she was mad. So maybe…
No, it wasn't worth the headache. Better to just appreciate it as it came naturally. Like a wild animal.
"So this is it. Time to say goodbye. I can't thank you all enough for what you've done for us and our town," said Boodle, tears forming in his eyes.
"No problem. Besides, you fed us so we're even," smiled Luffy. Zoro gave a snort at that, but said nothing.
Chouchou let out a bark, his tail wagging back and forth. He seemed to be doing good, his injuries not slowing him down at all.
"Yeah, you too," Luffy said to him.
"Since when can you speak dog?" asked Nami.
"Huh, what do you mean?" Luffy asked. He wasn't sure what she was talking about, he couldn't speak dog. He just had a feeling of what Chouchou meant.
Nami rolled her eyes at Luffy as Michi approached, "Are you sure you don't want to stay? My grandson-"
"No, sorry, we have to go. Lot's to do," Nami interrupted, her eye twitching. She liked Michi, she really did, but she had no interest in her grandson. How many times did she have to tell her that?
"Fine, fine, break an old woman's heart why don't you," Michi said, laying on the guilt. Though she was mostly joking, she was in fact sad to see them go. Especially Nami. Nick knew the feeling, but somehow doubted Michi would appreciate the sight of Nami leaving as much as he did.
"Promise you'll take care," she continued.
Nami gave her a smile, "Promise." It was nice to have someone be concerned for her. The only person he's had for a long time show any worry at all was her sister Nojiko. It was better than nothing, but she still missed Genzo and the others in Cocoyashi.
Soon. She almost had enough. Just a little more, and everyone would be free. The long nightmare was almost over, and everyone could finally wake up.
"And you young man," she turned her attention to Nick, who looked a bit nervous at the attention, much to everyone's amusement. "You better not do anything to reopen those wounds again. Honestly, I had to put you back together 5 times last night. Five! What's wrong with kids these days?"
She just didn't understand Nick's dilemma. You see, drunk Nami liked to spin and twirl, which caused some interesting things to happen with her chest. At that point it was out of his hands, there was nothing he could do.
"I'll try my best," he told her. What he didn't say was what his best was. She huffed but said nothing more. He should be fine for a white anyway. They would be sailing on a small boat, the chances of him hurting himself was fairly slim.
Then again, it wasn't hard for him to get distracted, even on a small boat. In fact, that might have made it even easier. There would be nowhere to escape the hypnotic powers of Nami's body. He would be in its thrall, with no hope of rescue.
Not that he'd want to be rescued in the first place.
They then boarded the ship and made ready to depart. As they untied the ship and began to cast off, the whole town seemed to appear out of thin air, cheering for the group.
"Thank you so much!"
"We won't ever forget you!"
"Stay safe!"
Luffy smiled and waved his arms enthusiastically, "See you!" Nami waved with her own smile, and Nick gave them a grin.
"You know, this is the second town that saw us off after saving them. Are you really a pirate?" questioned Zoro, with a sarcastic quip to his voice. The others turned to him, as Luffy let out a laugh.
"Being a pirate just means being free," he started, taking off his hat and staring at it, a million emotions crossing his face as he did so. "So as long as I stick to that belief, I don't care if people call me a good pirate or a bad pirate. I'll live the way I want, with no regrets."
It was surprisingly eloquent, considering who it was coming from, but the others couldn't help but feel a bit inspired by it. Though Nami was in disbelief. Luffy was definitely different from other pirates.
"So then, what does being King of the Pirates mean to you?" Nick asked. Luffy gave him a look before placing the hat back on his head, a grin etched onto his face. He never grew tired of talking about his dream.
"He's the freest of them all."
That caused a similar grin to appear on Zoro's face, even as he turned away to gaze at the ocean. Nami shook her head in disbelief, unable to comprehend the pirate in front of her. It was antithetical to everything she knew about pirates.
And Nick was relieved. It seems that was the same at least.
"Hey you kids!" shouted a voice. They turned to see who it was, and were greeted to the sight of Boodle, hands creating a tunnel over his mouth to try and sound louder.
"Come back someday, you hear! The town will be a hundred times better the next time you see it!"
"You got it, old guy!" shouted Luffy. They were all smiles as they finally left the town.
"So, Miss Navigator, where are we headed?" asked Zoro, with a hint of condescension. Luffy stopped waxing at the townsfolk and turned around, also eager to know their next destination.
Nami rolled her eyes at his attitude, "The next closest town is Syrup Village, in the Gecko Islands. It's known for its shipbuilding and of course, its syrup. We should get there in about 3 days," she explained. Nick didn't remember the ship building part, but then again, they never did expand on how Kaya's parents became so wealthy. At least, not that he remembered.
Luffy seemed excited by this. Or, more excited than usual. "Really? So we can get a ship there? A big one with 30 cannons and a fire breathing figurehead?"
"With what money? Or do you plan to steal one?" asked Nami, more than a bit baffled by his desires. Wouldn't a fire breathing figurehead pose a hazard of the burning variety?
That seemed to stump him, as he adopted a thinking pose, arms crossed and head tilted to the side. But it wasn't long until he gave up, "We'll figure something out."
Nami placed a hand on her head to try and stave off the coming headache. Zoro let out a laugh, watching in amusement, "You heard the Captain. Let's go get a ship."
Nami growled at them, ready to teach them a lesson about how to make proper plans and not just wing it, before a hand on her shoulder halted her. It was none other than Nick, who tried to give her a reassuring smile.
Though, it was kind of ruined by the fact that he was holding in a laugh. "Come on. I'm sure everything will work itself out. Who knows, maybe we'll save this town from pirates as well, and they'll reward us with a ship."
"Yeah right, like that would happen," she said back. That made Nick have to hold in the laugh even more. Never say never Nami.
***Line Break***
Traveling by boat was a bit different than Nick was expecting. Sure he traveled for about a day not long ago, but that was different. He could hold it. Plus, there was a Nami to distract him, but she was inside the small interior of the boat.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Now, he had to poop, and there was nothing he could do about it. It was going to happen, one way or another.
And the boat didn't have a toilet, so he wasn't sure about what to do. He didn't want to ask Nami, that would be mortifying. He could ask Luffy, the guy wouldn't judge him, but he likely wouldn't be quiet about it either.
That left a green haired swordsman. He should know plenty about shitting himself after spending a whole day on the toilet after being poisoned by laxatives. Luckily, he just woke up from a nap. Dude slept more than a cat. Nick slowly made his way over to him, being as silent as he could, so he didn't alert the others.
Luffy was trying to fish, though Nick had no idea where he got the pole from. It just kind of showed up. Must have been in the supplies Zoro bought.
And with Nami inside the boat's interior doing… something, it gave him a golden opportunity to find out where he was supposed to poop.
"Psst, Zoro," he whispered from the edge of the boat. Zoro, who was in his and Luffy's vessel, turned his head to the sound, only to discover it was Nick.
"Yeah? What do you want?" he asked. The two of them hadn't spoken much, only having a brief discussion about training during the party, before Nick was dragged off by their navigator. Zoro wasn't sure whether he should praise the man or pity him for gaining her affections.
"You've been traveling the sea for a while haven't you?" Nick questioned.
Zoro raised a brow, "Yeah, what of it?"
Nick looked around, a suspicious, borderline paranoid expression on his face, before he leaned in to whisper, "So, where's a guy supposed to go number two? Do we pull the boat over or is there a bucket…" he trailed off.
Zoro gave him a look of disbelief, "What the hell are you talking about?
Nick made a shushing motion, trying to get Zoro to keep his voice down, "Shh!" he hissed at him. Looking around again, he let out a sigh of relief when no one seemed to look in their direction.
"Listen, I need to poop," Nick tried explaining.
"Then go already. Why are you telling me?" Zoro asked angrily. Did he look like the type of guy who wanted to know about these things? 'Cause if he did, he needed a new look.
"Don't you think I want to? But where do I go? There's no toilet," Nick told him. What was so hard to understand? What didn't Zoro get about this?
"Then go over the side you moron!" he growled. That got Luffy's attention, who turned to see what the commotion was. Nick gave him a jaunty wave, while Zoro just looked pissed. He shrugged and went back to fishing.
"Seriously, that's all you have to say?" Nick hissed, turning back to the swordsman in anger. Zoro just continued to glare at him, "What do you want from me?"
"I want a solution that doesn't have my ass dangling over the water."
"Too bad. Either dangle or shit your pants. Just do it somewhere else."
That was the end of that conversation. Nick walked to the other side of the boat, placing the room between him and the other to give him some privacy. This was it, now or never.
He dropped his pants, and hopped up on the edge, booty all the way out. Now he just needed to be quiet, so the others wouldn't hear. That's all he needed to do.
So of course, that was the one thing he couldn't do. It was almost comical how loud it was, like a car backfire. He sat there, ass out, holding his breath, hoping for a miracle.
But none came, he heard the door open, and Nami stepping out, "What was that noise?" she asked, looking at Luffy and Zoro. Luffy didn't know, and was even looking around for the source. But Zoro…
He knew.
"I don't know, but I think it came from over there," he said, gesturing to the other side of her boat. He was barely able to keep the massive smirk off his face, the dick.
Nick heard Nami coming his way, and cursed Zoro for all he was worth. He knew damn well what he was doing. Nick would have his revenge someday, when Zoro least expected it.
But for now, he has a Nami to worry about. He could hear her footsteps coming closer each and every second. Soon she would see him and his shame.
He wanted to pull his pants up, but there was the problem of, uh, residue left behind, and he didn't have any toilet paper. These were his only pair of pants, and he wasn't going to ruin them like this. If he shit himself in battle, fine, but not like this.
So he sat there, drawing on whatever dignity he could muster, and waited. Soon enough, Nami came waltzing into view, "Hey Nick, did you hear some… thing…" she trailed off after getting a good look at him.
Oh look! Luffy was with her too, isn't that great? They stood there in silence for a moment, or at least Nami and Luffy did. Nick sat there, nonchalant as can be, with his ass facing the sea.
"Um, so… You mind passing me the toilet paper," Nick said after several long, silent moments. Luffy started laughing, and he could hear Zoro doing the same. Assholes, the both of them. Nami, however…
"..."
Didn't say a word, just stared with a blank, dead look on her face. "Can we pretend this never happened?" Nick asked.
The short answer is no.
***Line Break***
"So, what do you guys think?" Nick asked, twirling around and posing with his Marine coat. The rest of the crew just gave him blank looks in return.
"Think about what? Why are you dressed like a Marine?" asked Zoro. It was the second day of the trip, and Nick found his pilfered coat after looking through their supplies. He decided to get a different opinion than Nami's about how it looked. After all, there was no way Luffy and Zoro wouldn't think it was awesome.
"I took it as restitution for wrongful imprisonment while at Shells Town," Nick responded, with his hands on his hips, and pout on his face. The lackluster response wasn't what he was expecting.
"You were in Shells Town too?" asked Luffy, his eyes wide at the revelation. Even Zoro seemed surprised.
"Yup, locked up in the deepest part of their dungeon for crimes both imagined and exaggerated. They were planning to execute me after some other dude, but Nami broke me out before that could happen," Nick responded.
Zoro and Luffy looked contemplative as they turned their attention to Nami. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.
"Just surprised you saved someone," commented Zoro, with Luffy nodding along. Nami gave them both a glare, "And what's that supposed to mean, huh?"
Nick could see a fight was about to break out, so decided to intervene, raising his placatingly, "Alright, let's calm down. The important thing is I'm free, more or less."
The other two men raised an eyebrow, "More or less? What's that mean?" asked Luffy. He looked pretty free to him.
"I mean, she didn't save me for free…" Nick said.
"That makes more sense," said Zoro, as Luffy tilted his head in confusion, still not getting it.
"So, how much does he owe you?" asked Zoro.
Nami huffed, not liking being under their scrutiny, "Just a million, and that's a real steal. If you could have smelled him or heard his singing, you would have left him to rot."
"Oh come on, my singing wasn't that bad," Nick tried to say, but one look from Nami silenced him. Come on, he received a B in high school choir, it couldn't be that bad he would owe someone a million Beris as compensation. Could it?
Come to think of it, he was told to lip sync…
"It was the worst thing I've ever heard. For the first time in my life, I envied the deaf," Nami stated, a flat look on her face. Nick could only pout as the other two snickered at him.
"You know, come to think of it, the guards there did mention a prisoner who was so terrible that guarding him was a punishment. Guess that was you," Zoro commented, which now had Nami snickering as well.
"Guess you can't be the crew's musician then," said Luffy. Nick's eye twitched as they continued to mock him, Zoro and Nami laughing even harder. He didn't mind Nami laughing, as that caused her chest to move in wonderful new ways, he just wished it wasn't at his expense.
Well, at least he got something out of it.
"Haha, very funny. That's enough making fun of Nick for one day. Back to the original topic, the coat?" Nick said, as they finally calmed down, Nami wiping a tear from her eye.
"Why are you so obsessed with that thing?" asked Zoro, raising an eyebrow.
"Because Nami doesn't understand how cool it looks. The way it flutters in the wind, and frames the body. I thought you two would understand," Nick said, trying to show off the coolness of his stolen apparel.
The three of them gave him flat looks, but it was Luffy who said something, "I don't think a pirate should look like a Marine. It's weird."
"What? But I thought being a pirate meant being free?" Nick questioned, crossing his arms, giving Luffy the stink eye.
"...Not that free," he said, causing the other two to start snickering again. The twitch was back in Nick's eye, but he would show them.
"Fine, if that's the way you feel, then I guess I have no choice…" Nick said, before taking a big gulp of air. The other looked on in confusion, before turning into horror. Nick started to sing.
"I can't stop this feeling! Deep inside of me!"
"Ahh!"
"Ahh!"
"Ahh!"
***Line Break***
Nami was checking their heading, eyes glancing from a compass to the endless ocean in front of her. She read the wind as it flowed into her face, making small adjustments to their course based on the signals. There was a storm coming, but they should be able to avoid it.
But then a sound reached her ears. It was something that was becoming somewhat familiar as of late. It was the sound of Zoro and Nick arguing about something. She rolled her eyes, but decided to go and see what it was about this time. Not like she had anything better to do.
"I'm telling you you're wrong," she heard Nick say.
"Whatever, you just have no taste," she heard Zoro respond.
Nami saw Nick leaning over the railing with Zoro leaning back in his dinghy, arms crossed. Both of them held determined looks in their eyes, neither willing to back down from whatever they were arguing about.
"What's got you two so loud this time?" Nami asked as she approached, cocking her hips. Which Nick noted were phenomenal.
"Oh hey Nami," he greeted, not at all staring. Zoro just made a tsk sound but didn't comment further.
"We were just having a friendly discussion about which drink is the best. I say whiskey, but cabbage patch here says sake," Nick explained.
"What did you just call me?" Zoro questioned with a growl.
"I see," Nami said.
"What about you?" Nick asked, completely ignoring Zoro, much to his consternation
"Absinthe," she responded simply. Both Zor and Nick's eyes widened at that.
"Damn…" muttered Zoro.
"Holy…" trailed Nick.
Nami just gave them both a victorious smirk, like she just won something. The two losers turned to look at each other in disbelief. That's when Nick remembered something about Nami winning a drinking contest in some town. Also she drank a whole lot during the party the other day, more than even Zoro, come to think of it.
He found it kind of hot.
That's when he noticed the last member of their little party, none other than Monkey D. Luffy himself, walking around the corner of his and Nami's boat. Weird, what was he doing over there, and when did he get there?
Probably not important. "Hey Luffy!" he shouted. Luffy stopped in his tracks and looked around panicked for a second, before his eyes settled on Nick. He made his way over with a nervous look on his face.
"Yeah? What's up?" he asked.
"We were talking about everyone's favorite drinks. What's yours?" Nick questioned. Luffy gained a look of relief on his face.
"Apple juice," he said plainly. Everyone stared at him and blinked a couple times, before bursting out laughing.
"Hey, what's so funny!?" Luffy shouted angrily. What was wrong with apple juice?
"T-the king of the pirates… drinking apple juice…" Nick wheezed. Zoro and Nami were laughing for similar reasons.
"Couldn't you at least make it hard cider?" asked Zoro. Luffy gained a look of disgust on his face, "Ew, no way. Then it would taste all yucky."
That caused a new round of laughter from the three.
Finally they calmed down, Nick being the one to wipe a tear from his eye this time. "Ooh boy, I needed that. Alright, how about this, favorite food?" Nick asked. They each gained a look of contemplation on their faces.
"Fish and white rice. But anything that pairs well with sake is fine with me," said Zoro. Nick rolled his eyes, "Dude, give it a rest with the sake already."
"What was that!?"
"As for me," Nick said, ignoring Zoro once again, "Pizza, hands down. Nothing better. What about you Nami?"
"Hm, well tangerines are my favorite, but after that…" she started, before moving her finger to her lip, considering what she would say, before dragging it down her bottom lip in a very suggestive way, staring right at Nick, "A big, thick piece of steak."
Nick shivered. Damn this woman, she knew exactly what she was doing to him. That cocky smirk said it all. "You better stop with that sexy talk before you start something you can't finish," Nick said, with Nami giving him a coy smile in return.
"Get a room," said Zoro, not at all interested in their flirting. Nick and Nami gained a bit of a red hue on their faces at the suggestion.
"Oh I plan on it green bean, someday," Nick muttered to himself, then turned his attention to Luffy once more. "What about you Captain?"
"Me? Hmm, well they all tasted pretty good…" he said, thinking really hard about it. But something he said struck Nick as weird, and he could see Nami caught it too.
"Luffy, what do you mean it tasted good? Did you eat all our food?" Nick asked. Luffy's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, before looking away and whistling.
Poorly.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he asserted, but the sweat dripping down his face said otherwise. The other three shared a look, before their eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Really? Then what's that on your face?" asked Nami.
Luffy started panicking even more, "Oh man, I thought I got it all!" he shouted before wiping imaginary food from his face.
"Got you! There wasn't anything there!"
"Wah! You tricked me!"
Zoro and Nick could only stare as Nami whacked a big lump into his head. One of them couldn't believe he forgot he needed to guard the food. Rookie mistake. Well, at least their destination wasn't too far off.
And on the plus side, if he didn't eat anything, he wouldn't have to poop off the side of the boat anymore.
***Line Break***
Nami stood on the bow of the boat, looking through her spyglass, trying to ignore her grumbling stomach as best she could. She couldn't believe that little rubber idiot at all the food on their second day!
Actually, she could believe it, and felt even stupider for not considering the possibility. She wouldn't make that mistake again.
A blurry image from her telescope distracted her from her murderous thoughts. Slowly, the image came into focus, and to her relief, it was an island. Finally, they were here.
"Hey, we're here!" Nami shouted, catching everyone's attention. They made their way to the front of their respective boats, which was far easier for two of them. Nick came to a stop beside the beautiful navigator.
"I don't see anything. Are you sure we're here?" asked Luffy. Nami rolled her eyes, "Of course I am. Who do you think you're talking to? Just give it a minute, and you'll see."
So they did, and sure enough, after a minute or two, they could finally make out an island. "Woah, I can see it! Hey Nami, what's this place called again?" asked Luffy.
"It's the Gecko Islands, and our destination is Syrup Village, which is on the third island in the archipelago," she answered. Luffy looked more excited than ever, "Syrup Village huh? Shishishishi, I can't wait!"
His enthusiasm was almost contagious, as everyone gained an excited look. Maybe that was because everyone was hungry and they were tired of hearing the one who ate all the food complain about it, saying, "I'm hungry," or "Are we there yet?"
Little jerk.
But as they made their approach, Nick couldn't help but wonder what adventure was in store for him this time. Would things be the same, or drastically different from what he remembers? Well, only one way to find out!