91Nami whistled a tune as she flipped the omelets in her pan, the sizzle getting louder. Her bright orange hair was, like usual, tied up into a ponytail and the little beads she'd bought recently, decorated her hair. Their colour reflected off the sunlight that beamed into the small cottage house. Just outside the window, was Nami's tangerine orchard. It was perfectly maintained like always.
Her sister was outside, trimming the leaves as a young girl sat on the bench outside the house, humming a song. It was Bink's Sake, a classic song by Brook. Nami had taught it to all the kids in town and it didn't take long for it to be the latest trending song in Cocoyashi Village.
"How's it going there, Nojiko? Will there be any tangerine sauce for our omelet?" Nami called to her sister who plucked a tangerine from the tree.
Smiling, the blue haired woman nodded. "We've got basketfuls, Nami. Needn't worry," Nojiko replied from outside. The young girl, Yuna-chan, was holding the three baskets with barely any difficulty. She'd grown to be a young slave to the orchard. Not to the Bellemere girls, but to the orchard and tangerines only, according to Yuna.
Nami continued cooking the omelets. It wouldn't be surprising for Gen-san to come over for lunch either, so knowingly, she cooked more. Omelets with tangerine sauce, her and Gen-san's favourite dish. She still remembered how Sanji used to cook it, but she still loved her mother's omelets.
Suddenly, just as Nami had finished cooking and switched off the stove, Gen-san burst into the one room house panting. His white hair was becoming more and more visible on his head, and the scarred face of his was weathering away with age. Nami sometimes got sad when she saw him like this, becoming so old, but nothing could be done. Gen-san had been with her since birth after all.
"NAMI! Where's my daughter?! I know you stole her!" Gen-san hollered into the house, stomping in. Nami chuckled. Since her return, Gen-san had married a woman from the village and had three children. Yuna-chan being the youngest of the three. The oldest, Yutane, was twelve, Yuri was ten and Yuna was eight. It was still surprising for Nami to think of Gen-san as a father to children other than her and Nojiko, but of course, they all had to move on.
"I don't have her," Nami toyed with him, "I don't kidnap children, I take them and love them."
"So you have taken her! Where is she?! Her mother's gone mad and she's blaming it on me!" Gen-san stated angrily. Immediately, he spotted his daughter in the backyard with Nojiko, then stormed his way over. When he left the house, it was like a storm had calmed.
Nami shrugged and left Nojiko to deal with Gen-san. Technically, she and her sister weren't stealing Yuna-chan at all. She just liked to come here, and she came of her own will. Of course, they put her to work sometimes. But what was the point of having her there and not having her doing anything?
Nami set the table for four, having predicted that Gen-san would stay for lunch, and went out to join the party. "Oi! Nojiko~! Tangerines! The omelets are already ready! I just need the tangerines for the sauce! Hurry up, will you?" Nami called from the window.
Her sister nodded and straight away, Yuna raced into the house with the three baskets, skillfully dodging her father. "Here you go, Nami-san! Are they ripe and big enough you think?"
Nami beamed at the young girl. "Of course they are! Now you go and take a seat at the table, make sure your father stays, and this will be done soon." Yuna, being especially obedient to her idol, Nami, she rushed to the table and demanded her father to stay. Gen-san couldn't do anything but obey.
Nojiko came and stood at the kitchen table where Nami was whipping up the sauce. She watched as her little sister masterfully created the single sauce that made the omelets special. Everything related to the tangerines did nothing but remind Nojiko of her mother. And now, watching Nami, she only realised how much Nami acted like her. She smiled, thinking of the older days.
"What is it?" Nami raised an eyebrow at her sister, "Spit it out."
Nojiko's hair now was as long as Nami's and when she twirled it around her finger and let go of it, the piece of hair bounced back up. She giggled, "Nothing, Nami. Let's eat."
She swung the purse around her wrist, the coins jingling inside. Ah, the sound of money satisfied her. "And so," Nami smiled, "Another shopping spree begins!"
The streets were filled with people and stalls had been set up for the weekend. Cocoyashi Village could hardly be called a village anymore. Since the freedom from fishmen, Cocoyashi Village had bloomed to become a town of its own. There were more people, families being able to afford more children, and more businesses had sprung from the ground. It was so much different to when Nami had been a child, but she didn't see this as a bad thing. Perhaps the place would be put on the map. Being a tourist place wouldn't be bad, the tangerines would do well. And so would she.
The more she thought about money, the more Nami couldn't stop thinking about the days where she used to steal. Of course, she didn't do it anymore. She still felt partly guilty for all that had happened to this place years ago, hence why she didn't feel righteous in stealing the people's money. Nami knew that it hadn't been her fault, but she had been that close.
"Hey look! It's the famous pirate lady!" a child screamed out. Nami blinked at the mention of her. The children hadn't stopped calling her the famous pirate lady, but somehow, she took it as a compliment. Nami had been a crewmate of the infamous Straw Hats after all. And it wasn't like some random marine admiral would come storming up to this place.
After hours of shopping and with her legs at the brink of completely collapsing, Nami finally sat down in the middle of the street, on the bench near the tree. Her sister had long gone home, complaining that Nami was taking too long, so now she was alone.
Evening had dawned upon Cocoyashi Village, but like every weekend, the stalls and shops were still opened with lanterns dangling from above. People were still up and about, shopping, talking, eating. Nami breathed in the scent of her village and sighed. It was good.
A small hand tugged at her skirt and that caused her to pause her daydreams as she looked down at the young boy. His face was round like a dumpling and even his hair was nearly white. Dumpling boy, she'd never seen anyone like this.
"Are you the famous pirate lady that we're not supposed to tell the government about because you're the hero of the village?" the little boy asked politely as he tugged gently on her skirt.
Nami blinked unexpectedly, slightly shocked. "That's what they tell you kids? Incredible. Well then, yes. I'm fairly sure I'm the lady you're talking about."
The boy gave a glance at the surroundings and then turned his attention back to her, "Can you tell me the stories about your adventures?." His eyes gleamed, in such a familiar way that Nami was surprised for a second. The shine for a thirst of adventure. That's what it was.
Nami grinned at the boy, nostalgic feelings overwhelming her. Luffy, Zoro, everyone... The Thousand Merry... "It's been so long since everything happened. Sometimes, precious memories are the hardest to talk about, boy. I can't really-"
"I can," a familiar voice said. Nami looked up from the boy and gasped. Tears filled her eyes and glimmered under the moonlight. What was this? Why was he here? Under the full moon that night, Nami stood up abruptly and ran towards the person and hugged him so tight that he nearly stopped breathing.
She grinned up at him. "I can't believe it! What are you doing here?!"