Destined for Flames (One Piece Fanfic)

They're Calling Me What Now?

Nami's POV

"OH MY KAMI!!"

Sanji appears in the doorway, huge pink hearts in his eyes, perverted expression on his face. "What is it, Nami-swaaaannn?" he swoons, doing his weird wiggling dance.

I ignore him, gripping the wanted poster in my hands tightly, tears in my eyes. Though unlike with Arlong, these are tears of relief. "Raya..."

The rest of the crew, having heard my shout, crowds into the kitchen, where I was going through the mail while looking over my completed map of Drum Island. I never expected to see this though...

"Nami!" Chopper cries, putting his little hooves on my knees. "You're crying! What's wrong? Did something happen?"

I smile at the newest addition to our crew, wiping the tears from my eyes. "Nothing's wrong," I assure him. "It's actually good news. Great news."

"What is it?" Luffy has his head stuck in the fridge and it sounds like he's already got a piece of meat in his mouth. Sanji, grumbling under his breath about our baka captain, drops his foot onto Luffy's head. "Stop raiding the fridge, moron! You just ate lunch!"

Once Sanji successfully drags Luffy from the fridge, and I know the rest of the crew has their attention on me, I look up. Only two people here will have no idea what I'm talking about.

I turn the poster around. "She's alive," I say. A shocked silence settles over everyone, while Chopper and Vivi glance around uneasily.

Luffy is the first person to speak. "RAYA'S ALIVE! AND SHE'S GOT A BOUNTY!! LET'S CELEBRATE!!"

Usopp and Sanji shout their agreement, with Sanji promising to prepare a feast in honor of our lost crew mate.

Feeling his eyes on me, I hand the poster to Zoro. I smile at him, as a small one of his own flickers across his face. "She looks happy," I comment, and instantly feel bad about it. If she's happy, is that why she hasn't come back? I can see my unease reflected in Zoro's eyes. "Yeah," he agrees. "She does look happy."

In the photo, Raya wears her white bandana around her head, like Zoro sometimes does with his black one. A huge grin fills her pretty face, her pink eyes flashing with amusement. I can't imagine why she's so happy, but it makes me feel a little better knowing she isn't sad and scared. The area directly around her is alive with dancing flames but she looks completely unconcerned. Another perk from her Devil Fruit power. One thing does strike me as odd though.

"What happened to her hair?" I wonder aloud, peering over Zoro's shoulder. He shrugs. "She might've had to dye it," he suggests. I nod, just as I notice something in the background.

A ship.

A pirate ship.

"Do you recognize that flag?" I ask, and Zoro squints, trying to make out the tiny image in the corner of the photo. Eventually, he shakes his head. "Never seen it before."

Just then, Luffy runs past, with Sanji hot on his heels. Luffy's arms are laden with possibly every bit of meat we have on board, and Sanji is (obviously) furious with our idiot captain. But Luffy skids to a stop, making Sanji collide with his back and almost tumble to the floor.

"Shanks!"

"What?" I ask, baffled.

Luffy grins and grabs the poster, holding it in front of his face so that it's turned towards us. He jabs a finger at the pirate flag in the corner. "That's Shanks' flag," he says, and my eyes widen. "Hehe, I'd recognize it anywhere! Raya must be with him!"

"Luffy," I say, in an attempt to calm him down. "They could just be passing by; we don't know that she's with them," I reason. He just pouts childishly and throws his hands on his hips, dropping all his meat to the floor in the process. Sanji swoops in and gathers up all the food, grumbling some more as he returns it to the fridge.