16 Letting the thief enter the house

"KYAA"

Not expecting Eragon to pick her up and jump Nami closed her eyes and screamed as she prepared to drop into the sea.

After a few seconds she finally noticed something was wrong, she wasn't wet!

"Huh?" Bewildered, she opened her eyes to shockingly discover Eragon standing on the water without falling down.

Dazed, she stared at Eragon's face and almost loosened her grip and fell down to the sea.

Tightening his hold on Nami's body so she won't fall, he hugged her closer into his bosom and he could feel her soft skin with his fingers. Staring back at Nami's eyes in close proximity, he could practically feel her breath tickling his face.

"No need to look so surprised, it's just a devil fruit power. Nothing more" Showing a small smile, he tried to assure her everything was alright before he started walking in the direction of his ship.

'How come I just notice how handsome he is??' Feeling Eragon's warm and strong hands around her body, Nami's face reddened and she lowered her head, not daring to look at him directly. She could feel her heart pumping so strongly in her chest that she was afraid Eragon would hear it, it was her first time feeling like this and she didn't know what to do.

Eragon walked with Nami in his embrace in silence for a few minutes until he reached his ship. Concentrating his chakra In his legs he leaped strongly, reaching the ship's deck easily.

"We are here, you can let go now.." noticing Nami didn't have any intention of letting go he was at loss, not knowing what to do.

"cough cough, what's going on here?" Suddenly, Caroline's voice rang behind them, scaring the shit out of them. Turning around they could see Caroline looking at them with locked eyebrows and her hands on her hips.

'Was she always so good at sneaking around???' Feeling his eye twitching a little, Eragon did his best to look innocent while Nami quickly released Eragon and stared down in panic, her cheeks couldn't get any redder than they were already.

"Caroline, weren't you asleep?" Eragon quickly asked in an attempt to ease the mood.

"I thought I heard gunshots earlier so I came out to check, what are you doing here covered in blood and who is this young woman you just hugged?" Moving her eyes between Eragon and Nami, Caroline inquired in a dangerously low voice.

Understanding Caroline clearly misunderstood what just happened Eragon started explaining what happened in the last half hour before finally introducing Nami to Caroline.

Hearing the full story Caroline's expression finally eased before being replaced by a sympathized and warm look "That's awful!! Luckily Eragon saved you in time. You must be cold and starving, come with me my dear, I'm sure some of my clothes will be a fit for you" Caroline's motherly side quickly took over and she hurriedly hugged Nami and lead her to her room while looking at Eragon "Go to the kitchen and prepare something warm to eat"

Watching the two women leave Eragon scratched the back of his head not knowing why he felt like he just dudged a bullet. Eventually, he just shrugged his shoulders before he proceeded to take a quick shower before going to the kitchen to cook something.

Half an hour later, Caroline and Nami entered the kitchen, Nami was wearing one of Caroline's white pajamas with rabbits on the front, her own big rabbits were sticking out as the pajamas were too small to contain them. It was clear she just took a shower as well as her orange hair was still wet. Although less skin was shown Nami was still as lovely as ever, giving a vibe of a girl from next door.

Afraid to stare too long in case he will get in trouble again, Eragon concentrated on the pot in front of him " You came just at the right time, the food will be ready anytime now. How about you set the table in the meantime?"

"OK" Opening the cutlery drawer Caroline passed the plates to Nami before taking out forks and spoons and went to set the table with Nami.

"Is it just us 3 on the ship? I could have sworn I heard you talking to someone on the pirate ships" Turning her head to look at Eragon, Nami found the chance to ask what bothered her.

"You are quite astute aren't you? there 3 more crewmates on the ship. two of them are currently asleep while the last one is on the pirate ship bringing anything of value here" Without missing a heartbeat Eragon answered in a matter of fact while looking at Caroline from the corner of his eyes, hoping she will get the message.

"I see…" In a low mumbling voice, Nami said as she sat on one of the chairs with a contemplated look.

"You don't need to be afraid, I promise you they are all good people" Taking Nami silent as a sign of concern, Caroline tried to calm her down while sitting next to her and pulling her hands into hers to give Nami some sense of reliability.

Turning his head Eragon couldn't help but notice the two women talking with one another in hushed voices while sometimes sneaking glances in his direction. He couldn't quite hear what they were talking about but he was certain he heard his name.

"The food is ready" A minute later Eragon poured the food into the plates and brought them to the table.

"The taste is just amazing, are you the chef of this ship?" Taking her first bite Nami couldn't help but exclaim in surprise as she didn't expect the food to be so good.

"Heheh Eragon is the ship's captain, slow down so you won't choke, there's plenty more from where that came from" Caroline answered while giggling.

"Thank you for the compliment, it's just a hobby" Showing a small smile Eragon answered, compliments were always appreciated.

Taking big mouthfuls Nami finished her plate in no time. Only when she got her second serving did she finally ate slowly.

When they finally finished eating Caroline announced that she will sleep with Nami that night and told Eragon to find himself another room to sleep in.

"Are you and Eragon…" When they were finally alone in Caroline's room, Nami finally dared to ask the question that bothered her the entire night.

"Me and Eragon what?" getting inside the bad Caroline raised her eyebrow in question, not fully understanding what Nami meant.

"You know… a couple" feeling her face getting hot again Nami got inside the bed and layed down beside Caroline.

"Yes, he is my boyfriend" With a big radiant smile Caroline answered

With a downcast expression, Nami said in a mosquito-like voice "Of course, what did I expect…"

"Did you say something?" Not quite sure if you heard anything Caroline looked at Nami.

With her expression quickly returning to normal Nami tried to change the subject "I didn't say anything… I'm quite tired, should we go to sleep?"

"Yes, good night"

"Good night"

…

In the middle of the night when everyone was asleep, a sound was suddenly heard.

*Crack*

Opening the door, Nami heaved a sigh of relief when she noticed Caroline was still sleeping. Exiting the bedroom under tiptoe she paced while vigilantly looking around to see if anyone was awake.

Reaching the deck she made sure no one was there before she locked her eyes on the place she believed was the ship storage room.

When Nami approached the storage room she noticed it was unlocked, opening the door Nami sucked in a cold breath of air when she saw the floor covered in gold and treasures. Her eyes immediately turned into the shape of berry 'With all this money plus what I already have I can pay Arlong to leave us alone!'

Just as her hand reached to grab the gold Nami stopped, her eyes flickered in hesitation as she struggled internally if she should steal the money or not 'They just saved me from being raped and probably killed how can I steal from them… Why am I hesitating?? I must take this money in order to save my sister!'

After standing in the storage room for 10 minutes she still couldn't bring herself to steal the money. Every time she reached her hand, Caroline's warm smile will flash in her mind, making her hesitate.

A couple of minutes later Nami dejectedly left the storage room empty-ended. Closing the door behind her she went to the bow of the ship to look at the sea and started crying.

"Don't you know that crying will make your face wrinkle?" Suddenly she heard a voice behind her, making her jump in fright.

"KYAA"

Quickly turning around she saw Eragon standing behind her while looking at her with amusement in his eyes.

"Why are you here?" Wiping the tears with the back of her hand, Nami did her best to ask normally like nothing happened.

"I couldn't sleep so I figured I would go for fresh air, you?" Turning his head Eragon stared at the stars in the sky.

"S..Same as you, I'm out for fresh air" Concluding Eragon just arrived and didn't see what she did she sighed in relief.

"Is that so…" Not turning his eyes Eragon went silent for a moment before he continued "What did that pirate mean when he said you boarded their ship trying to steal their treasures?"

Hearing Eragon's words Nami's heart almost stopped beating, she felt cold sweat trickling down her back as her eyes opened in fright.