Flashes of lightning shone in through the windows of the crow's nest, lighting up the room. The roar of thunder followed, the sound blending in with the creak and groan of the floorboards as the room tilted gradually one way, then the other. Below, lapping waves rocked the sturdy frame of the Sunny as it bobbed up and down, side to side, anchored in place against the rocky haven jutting out of the ocean. Some twenty feet above the top of the mainmast hung a stony outcrop, the roof of a cavernous depression in the barren rock, which shielded the ship from the rain, wind, and deadly currents as its crew waited out the night. Four members of that crew inhabited this highest room in the ship, three of them staring skeptically at their long-nosed crewmate.

"...Like I was saying!" exclaimed Usopp drunkenly, slapping the floor from where he lay sprawled out on his side, his head resting against his hand. "That was no dream! I saw her! Last night! And tonight too! Right before this storm started! She was right out there, standing on top of the main mast!"

The sharpshooter heaved a sigh and brought his bottle of booze to his lips, his brows creasing in an expression of pained fright as he took a chug. Franky, who was lounging against the opposite wall, his legs crossed and hands clasped behind his head, eyed the sniper suspiciously for a moment before reaching for his cola and taking a swig. Jinbe, leaning forward and stroking his chin in interest, muttered a "Hm..." Luffy, sitting opposite Jinbe, lowered his own bottle to the floor with a decidedly loud thud, and nodded his head in grave seriousness.

"That's it. I've got it. It's a 'mystery girl'." the captain declared.

"Hm…" Franky growled, glancing out a window at the dark silhouette of the main mast. "But...even if you say that...There's definitely no one out there now..."

"I-I saw her!" Usopp whimpered, "A young girl! She was just standing there, staring in through the windows!"

"A young girl you say…" Jinbe said ponderingly. "Might it be that your eyes were playing tricks on you? With this heavy fog we've had of late…"

"That's true." agreed Franky, nodding. "It's been pretty bad these past few days. Ever since leaving Raftel, this mist hasn't let up...If not for that, we'd have already made it to the Red Line. Are you sure you didn't just see a shadow?"

"I-It was no shadow!" Usopp yelped, pushing himself up to a sitting position and falling back against the wall. He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. "Ahh…! There really is something wrong with this part of the ocean...The storms...the fog...and even the log pose has gone haywire…! We've been lost now for over a week! If we hadn't come across this rock when the storm hit…!"

"There is something strange about these weather patterns…" Jinbe agreed. "For this mist to persist despite the wind and rain...Even for the Grand Line, this is unusual…"

A flash lit up the room again, quickly followed by the booming howl of thunder. Usopp cowered up against the wall, drawing his knees in and shaking, his bottle in hand.

"Shi shi shi!" Luffy laughed. "Anyway! Tonight it's time to party!"

"That's true!" agreed Franky, raising his cola. "Once again, cheers to the new Pirate King!"

"Indeed. Cheers!" Jinbe exclaimed, grinning as he held up his own bottle. "It's already been a week, but somehow it's still hard to believe…"

"B-But, if we stay lost like this and can't find the Red Line…!" Usopp continued worriedly.

"Don't worry!" Luffy exclaimed happily. "Leave it to Nami! She said she's been making a map!"

"Right," Franky nodded. "While the rest of us have been taking turns on lookout, Nami's been doing nothing but working on those charts…"

"We really are in her care." Jinbe agreed, nodding somberly. "I've thought this for a while now, but she truly is an amazing navigator. Guiding us through those storms on the way to Raftel, and now keeping us afloat in these trepid waters, despite a week of this poor visibility…"

Luffy grinned. "Of course! She's amazing, right?"

Usopp took another gulp of his drink before wiping his mouth off with a hand and breathing a heavy sigh, his look of fear suddenly leaving him. With a slight wobble in his neck, he leaned forward slightly and looked at Luffy.

"Luffy, you love Nami, don't you?"

The glare of lightning filled up the room once more, followed promptly by another thunderous blast.

"WHA-!" Franky immediately gasped, snapping his head around in the sharpshooter's direction at the same time as Jinbe turned to gawk at him. "Wha-What are you saying all of a sudden!"

"But you do, don't you!" Usopp shouted with a slight grogginess in his voice, pointing a finger at his captain. "I've been watching! Nami's the only woman you ever have eyes for."

Luffy stared at Usopp through a moment of tense silence, Franky and Jinbe looking back and forth between the two, eyes wide.

"What are you saying, Usopp?" Luffy finally said with a smile. "Of course I love Nami! I love all of you guys!"

"That's not what I mean." Usopp went on, slapping the floor and sighing as he closed his eyes and hung his head, shaking it side to side. "I'm worried about you, Luffy! We've already found One Piece. If you're going to tell Nami, now's the time, you know! If you don't, she might get taken by someone else!"

"Taken? What do you mean?" Luffy asked, tilting his head to the side.

"I mean, you're in love with Nami, aren't you?" Usopp huffed in elaboration.

"AH-! I-In love?" Luffy repeated through clenched teeth as realization hit him. He backed up slightly and put his hands up guardedly in front of him, a mildly comical nervousness taking him over as sweat rapidly formed on his forehead. "U-Usopp! I-"In love" means you get married and have kids and stop going on adventures, doesn't it!? I still want to have adventures! I-I can't do something like being "in love"!"

"...Um…!" muttered Franky, still staring wide eyed at Luffy. "He-He didn't deny it…!"

"I-Indeed, he didn't…" agreed Jinbe, likewise amazed.

Usopp huffed again and scooted up next to Luffy, draping an arm around his captain's shoulders while setting his bottle of rum in his own lap.

"Listen, Luffy…!" Usopp said in an instructional tone. "Back in the day, I was once known as the "god of romance," but...nevermind that. Anyway, like I said, I've been watching you since way back, but I never said anything…! The time wasn't right. But now!"

Usopp patted Luffy on the shoulder as Luffy stared at him nervously. The sniper wobbled and for a second it looked as if he was going to pass out. He continued.

"Luffy! Look me in the eyes and say you're not in love with Nami! If you can!"

"Er!" Luffy uttered, taken aback.

A few seconds passed as Luffy stared at Usopp. Franky and Jinbe speechlessly watched the rapidly progressing scene.

"I...can't say that." Luffy finally said.

"Then Luffy…" Usopp went on, his head wobbling a bit as his voice became groggier. "If you're a man...say it...How do you really feel about Nami?"

Luffy paused for a moment, his brow heavily furrowed as he stared down.

"I...I am in love with her. I love Nami." he finally stated, as if in realization.

"What?" came a woman's voice.

A blinding flash from nearby lightning penetrated the room, immediately accompanied this time by a deafening roar of thunder. When the light faded, Luffy looked down to find Usopp passed out over his legs, snoring. The hatch to the crow's nest was open, with Nami paused halfway into the room, staring at Luffy. Franky and Jinbe were staring at her, their mouths agape. After a moment, Nami proceeded up into the crow's nest.

"The...fog had let up so I came to get a better view of the...storm...no, Luffy...what did you just say?"

Franky and Jinbe turned to each other and, after a mutual pause, hastily stood up. Jinbe hoisted Usopp onto his shoulder and the two quickly excused themselves, bolting down and out through the hatch.

"Luffy...just now...what did you say?" Nami asked again, staring wide eyed at the captain.

Luffy stared back hard at Nami from where he sat cross-legged, his arms at his sides.

"Ah...Nami. You heard that...!" he said with a slightly shaken voice and an expression that was serious for him, though somewhat comical from an outsider's perspective, his brow a series of wrinkles from how hard he seemed to be pondering his sudden predicament. "I guess it can't be helped."

Nami continued to stare, her balance seemingly one with the back and forth rocking of the ship as she gazed down at him. The howl of wind and rain from outside could be heard off from where it battered the mouth of the stony alcove. Another lightning bolt illuminated the room for a moment, followed once again in short sequence by a reverberating growl of thunder. Luffy's frown ceased and he smiled. His face was then cast in shadow for an instant as he stood up.

"Nami, I really am in love with you." he stated with a kind, easy grin.

Nami's eyes widened more as a shimmer struck them and a blush tinted her cheeks.

"Luffy…" she whispered.

A few seconds passed before she spoke again.

"Luffy…! You...You are so important to me, I…" she began before trailing off, though her eyes stayed locked onto his. She continued again after another few seconds,

"I'm...I'm sorry!" Nami said quickly, proceeding to bite her lip, her eyes a well of tears. "Luffy...I'm really sorry!"

"Eh-!" Luffy immediately exclaimed worriedly, holding his palms out. "He-Hey, there really isn't anything you have to be sorry for! I just wanted to say that!"

A tear left Nami's eye and she jerked her gaze downward, pain taking over her face.

"I'm so sorry! Luffy, I...I always want to be there for you. I want us to always be crewmates…!"

"Of course!" Luffy boomed, sweat appearing on his face as he tried to fix what he'd said. "You're one of my precious crewmates! We'll always be crewmates!"

Luffy scratched his head agitatedly and rigidly creased his brow in thought as he fought to find the right words, Nami raising wide, teary eyes to meet his, tears already streaming down her cheeks.

"I-I shouldn't have said that! I was wrong! I'm sorry!" Luffy urgently corrected himself.

"No!" Nami exclaimed. "Luffy, that's not…! I'm just-I'm just scared of things changing! I just... want us to keep having adventures! And all being happy together like we have been all this time…!"

Luffy stared at her in a building intensity for a second before facing the ceiling and shouting with a considerable huff of air,

"Of course we will!"

He faced Nami and huffed again. A short time passed as Nami stared at him, tears gradually slowing down before she smiled slightly.

"Is it okay...if things stay like this?" she asked weakly.

Luffy grinned from ear to ear.

"I wouldn't have it any other way!"

Nami stayed smiling at him a moment before she turned around and headed down the hatch towards the deck. Luffy sighed heavily and stared after her for some time, his grin gradually diminishing on its own. He sighed again, and fell back onto his heels, then further back through the air until his back slammed against the wood.

After sometime, he brought his hand up to clasp over his heart.

"Er…" he muttered. "This really hurts..."

He stayed like that in the dark as flashes of lightning continued to ignite the room in light, thunder rolled, rain pattered, and before he fell asleep, through the window, he caught the sight of a small girl standing on top of the main mast, gazing down at him.