Ch 16 Talking with Nami

(A few things before I start.

I write these on my phone, it is the easiest way for me as I also keep notes on it. The problem is auto-correct is a dick.

Web novel seems to not always inform me when you guys are leaving comments or deletes them and stops me from replying. So if you ask something and it's important, you may want to re-comment.

Sorry for taking so long with the new chapters. I have a whole family drama thing going on and college. Plus, when I write something, I keep second guessing myself with it and then start combing through it for mistakes, which I still miss at times. Though this is more recent.

Anyways, thanks for the support.)

When the ship blew up, it was assumed that Baroque works was already onto them, so they started running back to town.

Leo and Zoro split off and went straight to the Going Merry to get it ready to sail.

When they got there, they spotted Carue, Vivi's duck, which she went to find...

Ignoring that, they quickly got to work and three minutes later they spotted the others running towards them. Vivi looking worried, Nami trying to get her to go on the ship, and Luffy dragging Sanji and Usopp, by the leg and nose respectively.

See that they were pretty close, Leo started pulling the anchor up with one hand, causing Zoro to gawk a bit and mutter.

Zoro - "That had to weigh like 5 tons..."

(A/N: Feel free to correct me, I couldn't find the exact weight, but I did find that a Caravel weighs about 60 tons.)

Finally, they all got to the ship, and when Zoro asked what Vivi's problem was and found out that it was about the duck, he pointed him out while telling her that he was there before him and Leo.

With everyone on the ship, they started to set sail.

Sanji and Usopp quickly woke up, and then started to complain about leaving so soon, saying that they should stay a little longer and relax.

Zoro - "I think you oughta go explain to them what happened..."

Nami - "Consider it done."

She punched them in the face...

They were all looking ahead and saw that the fog was clearing, when a voice sounded out.

"Be careful not to crash your ship into the rocky shores. And congratulations on your escape."

*!!*

Zoro - "Wha!? Who's that!?"

There was a beautiful woman with black hair in a skimpy purple cowgirl attire, including a hat, sitting on the railing of the upper deck. This was of course, Nico Robin.

Robin - "I must tell you Miss Wednesday, I met up with Mr.8 just a little while ago..."

Vivi - "Are you saying... That it was you who did that to Igaram...!?"

Luffy - "Hey! Why're you on our ship anyways!?"

Vivi - "What're you doing all the way out here, Miss All-Sunday!?"

With her identity as a Baroque works agent revealed, Nami asked whose partner she was, which Vivi explained that she was Mr.0 partner and was the only one who knew the Boss' real identity, which is why she and Igaram had followed her to find out themselves.

Robin then admitted to the fact that it was more like she let them follow her, which Vivi claimed she already knew that and asked what her goal was.

Robin - "Now, now... No need to get so worked up, I only let you follow me because you looked so desperate... And it was just too amusing to observe, a single princess who thinks she can take on the entire Baroque works organisation and save her Kingdom..."

Her words clearly angered Vivi, as she clenched her teeth and then shouted.

Vivi - "Don't you underestimate me!"

Then suddenly, Sanji and Usopp were standing on the upper deck, pointing a pistol and slingshot at Robin from the side, while Nami had her staff ready and Zoro had a sword drawn.

Leo didn't really care about the whole situation and was just watching, and Luffy still wasn't sure whether she was an enemy or not.

Usopp - "Hey... Do you understand what's going on...?"

Sanji - "No... But what I do know for sure, is that this woman's a threat to my lovely Miss Wednesday...!"

Even when surrounded, Robin still didn't seem to care.

Robin - "Would you please mind, not pointing such dangerous weapons at me?"

She then without anyone, other than Leo, really understanding how, threw Sanji and Usopp over the railing, while also disarming Nami and Zoro.

Usopp - "Wha!?"

Sanji - "Agh!?"

Zoro - "Wha!?"

Vivi - "It's a Devil fruit!"

Luffy - "Ohhh!"

*Thud x2*

Both Sanji and Usopp landed onto on the deck, it's actually a surprise that neither of them broke anything.

Sanji - "Woah! She's a real beauty!"

Robin - "Fufufu... No need to get so riled up. I haven't come here on any orders nor do I have any reason to fight you people."

At this point, Leo just wanted to get this over with, he was already in a bad mood and her display was getting on his bad side.

So, without anyone seeing anything, he sped on to the upper deck, right behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

Leo - "I'm starting to get pissed off! So how about you stop playing this game and do what you really came here for, Nico Robin."

Frightened by the sudden hand on her shoulder and the usage of her real name, she quickly used her Devil fruit ability.

Robin - "Clutch!"

A pair of arms appeared on Leo and tried to snap his neck. Keyword being 'tried'.

The expected *crack* didn't come, so she slowly turned head and was met with a pair of dimly glowing red eyes, staring down into hers.

Robin - "*Gulp* How do you know that name...?"

Leo - "I know a lot of stuff, such as the reason for the destruction of Ohara and the reason for you having a 79 million Beli bounty."

Her breathing hitched and her pupils constricted at his words. She felt extremely scared as she knew that she wouldn't be able to fight him.

Leo - "No need to be afraid, I have no intentions to hurt you, just stop playing this game of yours. I hate manipulative people!"

Towards the end, she could see the hatred in his eyes and felt uneasy. But when he finished talking, he removed his hand from her shoulder and walked back to the main deck, she felt more at ease with that. She also decided to heed his word, there was no reason to make that hatred target her.

The others were also quite shocked, as his intervention was very abrupt. Only Nami had an understanding of why he would move.

Robin - "R-righ*cough* Right, I was going to warn you that your Log pose was pointing to an Island called 'Little Garden', which is one of the more dangerous ones. So here, take this."

She threw an Eternal pose to Vivi and explain that it would take them to an uninhabited just before Alabasta, Zoro raised possibility it was a trap, which she simply stated that it wasn't.

Vivi held the Eternal pose and looked at it while thinking that she didn't want to accept anything from her, but if it was the safest way, then maybe she should.

That was when Luffy reached out and grabbed it.

Luffy - "Enough wasting time with that!"

He crushed the Eternal pose.

Luffy - "Don't you dare think, you can choose the path of our journey!"

Robin - "... I see... How unfortunate... Let us meet again soon if you survive."

She then turned to get off the railing and leave, but not before glancing at Leo, who hadn't spared her a second look since warning her and had been staring at the deck with his brows furrowed, arms crossed and tightly clutching at one another as if to restrain himself.

She actually wanted to talk with him a bit, but seeing how he was right now, she thought that would be a bad idea and so she left quickly.

The others followed her, they watched her get on the back of a big turtle and leave.

After a minute they got back and saw Leo still standing there.

When they got back, Leo decide to leave, so he started walking to the lower deck. As he was passing, Nami grabbed his arm, but he didn't look at her.

Nami - "Hey, are you okay...?"

He continued to stare forwards and replied through gritted teeth.

Leo - "I'm fine."

He then shook her hand off and continued walking, leaving the rest of the crew staring.

Zoro - "What's his problem...?"

Sanji - "How dare he be so rude to Nami!? I'll go get him to apologise!"

Sanji took a couple step forward, but was stopped.

Nami - "Wait! Just leave him, he has had a long, bad day."

They were curious about what she meant, but given that she didn't see to be intending to tell them they decided to just listen to her.

...

With Leo, while he was walking through the corridor.

Leo - 'Why am I so angry!?'

He just kept repeatedly asking himself this same question as he walked.

He wanted as much privacy as possible, so he went to the storage room. When he got there, he sat in a corner and clutched at his head.

Leo - 'Why? Why!? WHY!? WHY DO I KEEP SEEING THAT BITCHES FACE!?!?'

Since the moment he lost control of his emotions and snapped at Nami, he kept remembering the face of his ex and it was almost like she was right infront of him.

Leo - 'Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why...'

He just kept repeating that word over and over, as if it were a chant.

*Drip*

*Drip*

Leo - "Why can't I just forget...?"

And that was how he spent the day... Alone, in darkness, with only his own maddening thoughts.

...

It had been a day and he was just sitting there with a blank look, you could even mistake him for a corpse.

He felt as though he was going insane, but he had finally stopped seeing 'her' face... For whatever that was worth...

He just couldn't understand why this was happening now, it had been ten days already, but there was nothing. So why now?

It can't just be because of what happened when he was with Nami, could it?

Speaking of Nami, he felt bad for the way he had acted with her. He was almost ready to kill her for no reason and when she was concerned for him, he treated her coldly. Though that was because he wasn't feeling stable at the time, it still wasn't much of an excuse.

He also felt a bit bad for Robin, but that was brought on by the way she was acting, so he didn't feel as bad.

Leo - 'I should apologise to Nami... later...'

After making up his mind to apologise, he continued to sit there, unmoving, and with the same blank stare.

...

It had now been a few hours and Leo decided to finally get up.

He left the storage room and trudged through the corridor to get outside.

When he got out, he found that it was night again. He stared up into the nights sky, looking at the stars in all their splendour, a view you couldn't get in the modern world on earth.

He stood there for a few minutes and thought that it was beautiful.

He then made his way over to Nami's room and when he saw a light at the bottom of the door, he was pretty sure she was still awake.

*Knock knock*

It only took a few seconds for her to open the door.

When she opened the door and saw that it was Leo, she was about to greet him and ask how he was doing, but she was stopped when she saw the look in his eyes. As if he lost his will to live... Which is saying a lot, given that he didn't seem that good before either.

Leo - "Sorry to disturb you, I just wanted to say sorry for the way I snapped at you the other day and then again when you just wanted to know how I was. So, I'm sorry."

With that done he turned to leave.

Nami - "Wait...!"

She had grabbed hold of his arm tightly, intent on keeping him from leaving.

He turned to her and asked in a dull tone.

Leo - "Is there something you need?"

She started to pull him inside and he let her, he just could be bothered trying to fight her.

Nami - "Come inside and sit down."

She pushed him to sit on her bed, then she pulled her chair from her desk and placed it infront of him before sitting down herself.

Nami - "Now, talk! Tell me what's going on, you look like you've given up on life..."

She was clearly worried about him and didn't seem to want to take no for an answer.

He stared at her for a moment, thinking about whether to talk to her and what to say, if he should. Eventually, he decided to just do it. What's the worst that could happen? He could just leave if he had to.

Leo - "Where do you want me to start? The part where half my life has been a joke? The part where I died because of the woman I loved? Or maybe the part where it feels like I'm going insane, and even after getting revenge, I still don't seem to be over it?"

She didn't know how to really talk to him about this, she barely known him six days. Not counting the last two he spent isolating himself in the storage.

Nami - "You mentioned a couple of times that you were 'alone now', what does that mean?"

He stared at her for a moment. It was as if his mind just didn't want to process the question, but he still managed to answer eventually.

Leo - "That is a difficult question to answer... Simply put, I can't see any of the people I considered friend anymore."

The way he put it was odd to say the least.

Nami - "What do you mean by it being difficult to answer, and why can't you see any of your friends again?"

Leo - "There are certain things that I can't tell you, without meeting certain criteria. And as I've said before, 'consider it a price for revenge.'"

She felt like this was just going in circles and it was frustrating, but she still continued.

Nami - "Right, you said that someone brought you back to life and gave you power, along with the chance to kill that bitch who's caused you to be like this..."

That last bit was said particularly venomously, but he either didn't realise or didn't care. Anyways, she carried on.

Nami - "So, what was that about, why would they not help you with your troubles."

Leo - "That wasn't part of the deal, they didn't really want me to seek revenge, but it also wasn't their place to stop me, that was my decision. Even my power are a result of my own twisted desires, something I wished for."

Now, this confused her greatly. Other than turning into a flaming skeleton, his powers don't seem that bad, a Devil fruit could probably do some similar. Right?

Nami - "What do you mean by that? Your powers don't seem that bad."

Leo - "That's because you don't know the full extent of my abilities. I made, now that I look back on it, a very twisted and vile request. More than one in fact."

Nami - "Oh, come on. How bad could it really be...?"

He stared at her for a moment before telling her.

Leo - "I wished for the ability to devour the souls of others as a means of gaining strength. That's why my eyes glow after I kill someone."

Silence. She had no response for something like that, but he wasn't done either.

Leo - "I also wished to be able to read the minds of others, so that they couldn't deceive me. And then, what I'm most disgusted by, but also can't deny that I would do again, I wished for any women I may end up with, to be incapable of betraying me..."

She was now extremely unsettled. She could understand why he would want such a thing, but for her, who had a developing crush on him, it was the same as being told he would never truly trust her... She also didn't quite like that he said 'women'... But then, why was he telling her all this now...?

When he saw the unsettled look on her face, he, for the first time since entering her room showed a different expression. A self-mocking smile made its way onto his face.

Leo - "But, I'm nothing if not a planner... I made sure to make it so that I could remove the connection if they ever wanted to leave me, I didn't want to trap or force someone into loving me..."

She could hear the insecurity in his voice as he spoke. She was also curious about the 'connection' he spoke of.

Nami - "What exactly is the connection you mentioned?"

Leo - "I wished for any women that I have a mutual love with, when we confirm the relationship, our souls would be bound to one another. On the upside, they get immortality, hehe... Haah... Looking back on it, maybe I had already started going insane when I wished for things like messing with souls..."

She found the idea of having her soul bound with the person she loved kind of romantic, and funnily enough, wasn't paying attention when he mentioned immortality. But, she was quickly brought back when he said he was going insane.

Nami - "What do you mean? How are you insane?"

He looked her straight in the eye.

Leo - "You know, two weeks ago, I'd never so much as been in a fight. It's been almost twelve days now, I killed the two who killed me and got revenge, though I killed them out of sight because I wanted to do something, that was when I lost any hope of seeing a friend again.

Four days after that, on the Baratie, I killed. Every. Single. One. of the the pirates. It was also the first time I killed someone with my hands, and you wanna know what my first thought was? It was disappointment over the fact that I got only a 1 ton strength increase.

I then later killed Arlong after playing with him, for no other reason than because I could. It was only when I was in the map room, that was filled with your negative emotions, that I no longer wanted to play with him. The last thing he did was call me a monster and I didn't even deny it! Because the entire time, I was enjoying the fear I felt from him.

Then back at Logue Town, when Luffy was on the execution platform, I could have easily got him out, but I was more focused on fighting, because I enjoyed it, I enjoyed literally tearing them apart like an animal.

If none of that makes me insane, then I don't know what does."

It was now that she realized just how little time he had, had to process everything.

He had stopped looking at her at some point and instead looked at his open palms.

Leo - "I don't even recognize who I am any more... I literally changed how I look, all because I honestly just want to forget... Forget everything and start again, but I can't..."

He held his face, feeling the difference from what it once was.

Leo - "I-I'm hardly even a human anymore..."

He shifted into his Ghost Rider form and moved his hands away.

GR Leo - "This is what I am now. This is what I was reborn as. A creature that's sole purpose is to punish others... And all I feel is anger or emptiness..."

He looked at her and found that she was looking at him while crying, which confused him.

GR Leo - "Wha-!?"

He didn't even get to finish before she practically tackled him. He had to quickly change back to human before she risks getting burnt.

Leo - "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Nami - "You sound like you don't even want to live anymore... H-how could you think like this...? Why do you keep pretending you're okay when you're not...? How how could you talk about yourself like you're some monster!?"

Leo - "Honestly... I don't know if I do want to be alive... But then, I should have thought of that before wishing to be immortal. And didn't you smile all the time, for eight years, when you were suffering. I talk about myself as if I'm a monster, because I wished to be one... You know, there's a saying, 'monsters aren't born, they're made.' I guess I'm just one more example of just how true that saying is. Heh!"

The more he talked, the more sounded like he was losing something from inside. But alternatively, the more he talked, the tighter Nami held him.

Nami - "You're not a monster, you're just hurt. No matter what you might think, you're still you, and some stupid powers hasn't changed that."

Leo - "You don't know that, you barely know me... I wasn't the first to be given a second chance at life by that 'person', and from what they said even the one before couldn't handle it, so why would I be any different? I knew what I was asking for... and I did ask for this... I used to think that I was a good person, but maybe that was just another lie and this is who I really am."

Nami - "You are a good person, if you weren't, why would you have brought back my mom...? You had no reason to do that, you could have just stayed quiet. You even offered the others a chance at bringing someone back."

She had somewhat caught him here, he couldn't think of a valid response and ended up giving a weak answer.

Leo - "That could just be a way to trick you all into feeling like you owe me something or to hide what I really am..."

She backed away a bit to look him in the eye, but still kept a tight hold of him.

Nami - "If you really believe that, then why are you crying?"

Leo - "Huh?"

He reached up and touched his face, feeling the wetness of his tears.

Leo - "Why...?"

She went back to hugging him, putting her head to his shoulder and his to her own.

Nami - "There's nothing wrong with crying... There's nothing wrong with feeling hurt and angry about what's happened, but if you just keep bottling it all up, you're going to break..."

His arm unconsciously wrapped themselves around her and her started to quietly sob.

...

30 minutes later, he had stopped crying but didn't let go of her.

Leo - "You know... When I asked for my powers, I was excited despite just dying, for a brief moment I had completely forgotten about it all and was simply excited for the chance to get to do whatever I wanted... I've also realized something though, I was told that I would be temporarily punished for consuming the souls of innocent mortals, but almost everyone sins and it's mostly only children who have their innocence... that is until the world around them warps everything. It makes me question what would actually cause my punishment?"

Nami had begun to softly stroke his head head as she listened.

Nami - "Well it would probably be best if you never found out... Some things are better left a mystery."

Leo - "Yeah, I guess you're right..."

She once again backed up to look at him, this time with a joking smile.

Nami - "Of course I am! I'm one of the smartest people around!"

Leo - "Hehe!... Thanks..."

Nami - "No problem."

She then looked at him suspiciously.

Nami - "Now that you've calmed down. What was that about having a soul bond with any 'women' you might share feelings with? As in multiple?"

Now he was in a bit of a bind, but he didn't think of lying. What would be the point?

Leo - "Well, at the time... In my excitement, I thought that there would be the possibility that I would like more than one person, and I was thinking that I would live my second life without reservations."

Nami - "Oh. And why did you think you would would like more than one girl, huh?

He had a sour expression now, but he still told her.

Leo - "It wouldn't be the first time..."

Nami - "Hm?"

Leo - "Before... Before I died, I liked someone else as well, but I always suppressed and tried to ignore the it. It's kind of pathetic right? I knew she liked me, even our friend tried to get us together, but I chose to stay with that bitch instead!"

He was sad and angry remembering it all, but he calmed down when he felt Nami's hand caressing his head.

Seeing that he had calmed down again, she decided to take his mind of it and smiled playfully.

Nami - "So, what? You were thinking of travelling the world and collecting pretty girls to be in your harem?"

He looked at her seriously, even though he could see that she was joking.

Leo - "No. I'm not interested in a relationship purely based on looks. I know what I said, about 'love' and all, but I want to love these women and be loved back! And given that I'm now immortal, I thought the chances of this happening were quite high."

Seeing how serious he was, Nami couldn't help blushing.

Nami - "But wouldn't that be sad, if you had to watch as they grew old and died."

He shook his head.

Leo - "I said it before, they would be immortal thanks to the soul bond. Even if they were killed, I can revive them an infinite amount of times."

She was kind of shocked, but she kind of liked the sound of spending eternity with a person she loves. She started to imagine it and when she thought of who she would be with, the first person that came to mind was Leo.

In embarrassment, she got off him and coughed.

Nami - "*Cough* R-right, that sounds nice!"

Leo also saw this as a good time to get up and leave. He might not need sleep, but she does.

Leo - "Right. I think I should leave you to rest now."

He got up and walked over to the, opened it and just before he left.

Leo - "Nami."

Nami - "Y-yeah!?"

He looked at her with a grateful smile, the first genuine one since arriving in that world.

Leo - "Thanks. I really needed this."

He then walked out, leaving her slightly dazed.

(Soo? What did you think? I thought it was a little cringe, but I'm pretty happy with it.

I listened to a lot of NF while writing this... Specifically 'Paralyzed' which I thought kind of fits.

Recommend music that I can listen to while writing, it helps me think.)