Steel Heart

Ch 55 - Maiden Island

Nana stayed by Luffy's bedside even when they pulled into the mythical island of women. Everyone else (the men) in the sub were practically jammed at the entryway to sneak a peek into their fantasy paradise. Nana, though, had no interest in what was going on outside of the surgical room. Her entire focus was on her captain. She had no intention of leaving him. According to Law, at this point it was all dependent on Luffy's will to live, which gave Nana plenty of hope because if anybody had the will to pull through, it would be her captain.

Jimbei, the Fishman and former Warlord, had filled her in on everything that had happened from Impel Down to Ace's death. She hated that her captain had to go through all of that without his crew. They should've been there with him. She should've been there. That was why she was determined to be there when he awoke.

That was also why she was in a foul mood when she found herself being pulled out of the surgical room and onto the island so that she could talk to the women of Maiden Island on behalf of the Heart Pirates, while Pygmy sat with Bepo by a tree.

"Why the fuck am I doing this?" Nana demanded, glaring at the group of men behind her, as she stood in front of a giant woman named Aphelandra, who was in the middle of serving food for each man.

"Because we're not allowed to talk to the men. Luffy is the only exception because of the princess' decree," a stern woman, named Kikyo, answered as she sliced up some meat at another table.

"Okay...so...do the men want to talk to you or do you want to talk to the men?" Nana asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We want to know how Luffy is doing," a woman named Marguerite asked as she held a large basket of fruit.

Nana shook her head. "Not awake yet," she replied solemnly.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you?" Aphelandra asked with a gentle smile, "I haven't seen you grab food here before. Have you just been in the sub and not eaten in the last two days?'

"Has it been two days?" Nana asked with a tired sigh, "I haven't been really keeping track."

Suddenly, an empty bowl was thrust into her hands from the side. She glanced over and was surprised to see Law there.

"Eat. I don't want to have another patient to attend to. Especially for something as easy to treat as malnutrition," he said coldly before walking away to sit underneath a tree.

He kept his attention fixed on the mechanic. The girl was erratic and unpredictable. What is your power, Mizu-ya? And who is Gridley D. Sylvia?

"I have no appetite," Nana replied, ambivalent of the attention she was getting from anyone. She set the bowl down at the edge of Aphelandra's table.

Aphelandra took Nana's hands into hers. "The Snake Princess is the same way. You both are very concerned about Luffy, as are we, but you don't have to deal with it alone. Since you are a woman, you are welcome to come into our village. If there's anything you or Luffy need, feel free to come in and find us. We'll help you in anyway we can. That was the princess' decree as well."

"I believe," another warrior scoffed, "The actual orders were to help Luffy in anyway we can."

Before Nana could respond, she heard Luffy's muffled cries from within the belly of the submarine. "LUFFY!" she shouted just as the submarine started to shake uncontrollably.

Law stared grimly at the mechanic. She heard Straw Hat-ya from here?

She raced towards the ship just as Luffy broke through the top of the submarine in a giant explosion of smoke and metal rubble. He sailed over Nana and landed on his knees. "A-A-Ace..." he panted.