Chapter 1: Prologue

I do not own onepiece!
Eiichiro Oda own's one piece!

I know the characters seem too OOC but I don't care.

Five in the morning was too early to be moving, but this was the cheapest time slot the moving company offered. Nami sighed as she took a final look around the empty room. She walked into what was her kitchen as she glided her fingers across the wall. She made her way to the back door of the empty kitchen and stopped to gaze upon a certain spot. On the wall, next to the back door frame, were many horizontal marks of height measurements with initials reading either 'NA' or 'NO'. She smiled softly and lingered in that spot reminiscing. She was going to leave behind so many precious memories that were made in this house.

She quickly exited the kitchen and made her way upstairs checking each room, hoping she didn't forget anything. At the end of the hall she entered the last room on her left which was her room. The walls were a pale orange with cream colored trimmings along the ceiling and floor. Unsettled dust drifted slowly in the morning's light that was slowly beginning to warm the room. She never had the opportunity to see her room light up each morning. Each morning she woke up with her room screaming into her eyes, 'GOOD MORNING SUNSHINE!' from how bright the walls became against the morning sun. But seeing her room slowly fill with light made her appreciate how calming and cozy her room really was.

"You never really appreciate things until you're about to leave them…" she said in a soft tone.

"Miss Nami, it's about time we head out if you're planning to keep the special offer! If we're late then that's an extra charge for you!" called an old man.

"Oh yeah, that's right…" she muttered.

She hired a moving company to help her with her things since she was heading off to college. Graduating from high school just three weeks ago, she was more than ready to start her life as a university student. Name had sold everything in the house that didn't belong to her to pay for the moving van and the labor.

She made her way down to the front entrance and locked the door behind her. She was going to miss her home. She took a deep inhale and turned on her heels, ready to start anew.

The drive was long. Nami said nothing to the old man and he returned the favor. He gave her the quiet she needed as he noticed her deep in thought. She could faintly hear the radio as her thoughts wandered about. Mainly focusing on her high school life, Nami thought about her friends and how she left them without a word. How long had it been? Two years? Only her best friend Robin knew about her situation, with little to no information, and was sworn to utmost secrecy. Nami felt guilty about disappearing. She felt upset at herself for not saying a word to anyone and guilty again for making Robin pretend to be in the dark with everyone else. And most of all, she felt regret that she couldn't tell the guy she liked her true feelings. She had too much pride to say anything. Not only was he a flirt but he was too nice. She didn't want him to think she was looking for his comfort during her time of need. She didn't want his pity, but his love. Seeing as though he was an absolute flirt, she decided against involving herself with him and, much to her dismay, kept everything to herself.

Nami was glad she called Robin by the payphone a while back. Robin had asked Nami to be her roommate for school. How Robin knew that they were accepted to the same school was beyond Nami, but she was appreciative to Robin. She couldn't thank her enough for all that she had done.

Lazily, Nami gazed out of the moving van's window and noticed the university she would be attending for the next four years. It was massive. It looked like it's own city due to how massive it was. She could see a good amount of students strutting off towards class or the dorms. It was the ending of the spring semester, so she could tell by the looks of their faces just how busy or stressed they were. Nami's classes didn't start until the beginning of summer along with Robin's, so she had time to look for a job and get to know the city.

As the van slowed down around a corner Nami noticed Robin, standing outside of her apartment striking a conversation with the men from the first moving van. Because of how cheap the company was, they used two, overly small, moving vans. As the van finally came to a stop she slowly climbed down from the van and sheepishly walked towards Robin. Robin turned around immediately and Nami could see the complete difference in her friend. Her short hair was now long enough to her waist. Her once before tanned skin was now a creamy, milky color. Those wise, deep, teal eyes which could look into your very soul had an even more softened expression; almost motherly.

'Has it really been that long since I've seen Robin?' Nami thought.

A soft smile played across Robin's lips as she saw Nami. She was glad to see her best friend was alive and healthy looking, with long beautiful orange locks. Robin liked Nami's new look. But over all, she was just glad to see Nami healthy. For the past two years, she worried about Nami constantly. Only hearing from her once every 3 months tugged at her heart.

Nami was finally standing in front of Robin and a smile made its way to her face. Nami suddenly felt a slight stinging in the corner of her eyes.

"It's been a while Robin." She said with a laugh, as tears began to trickle alongside her cheeks.

Nami was overjoyed seeing her best friend that it brought herself to tears. Robin simply smiled and gave her a warm hug. Nami's first instinct was to hug back and that she did. Robin soothingly patted her head, knowing better than anyone, what went through Nami's thoughts She wasn't her best friend for nothing. She knew how happy Nami was right now. She could only have guessed just how alone Nami might have felt those past two years. Robin couldn't do a thing because she was respecting Nami's wishes.

After a moment of silent crying in her best friend's arms, Nami let go of Robin and looked at her. Robin only smiled at Nami before speaking in a motherly tone.

"Let's help the movers get your things inside. After we're done I'll make some coffee."

As the two sat for coffee, Nami played with the edge of her mug.

"Nami, it's been two years since we all saw you. Hearing from you once every three months was not ideal. I respect your privacy but what have you been doing these past two years?"

Robin sipped her coffee and gave Nami a look she couldn't fight against. It was that look of caring and understanding, but of worry and a stern concern.

Nami sipped her coffee and sighed. She didn't meet Robin's eyes and gathered her thoughts for a bit. Robin knew she must have had a hard time and didn't rush Nami. She was always patient like that.

Nami finally lifted her gaze to Robin. "After Bellemere and Nojiko's death the school allowed me to finish up my sophomore year with you guys. I couldn't pay for the amenities for the next two years of school so I spoke with the dean and the guidance counselor. They offered a home school program to me because of my situation. I still had to pay but it was so much cheaper to get my education that way. I picked up two full time jobs and any extra part time jobs I could. I canceled my cell phone plan, the cable, the internet, and the home phone. I did what I could to save money. I know Luffy has been over to my house because there were some dents from what I assume was him pounding on my door."

Nami paused for a bit to collect her thoughts again.

"I practically lived at my jobs and I was barely home. My managers were very understanding of my situation and let me stay after hours to finish my school work or sleep over."

She sipped her coffee some more and continued.

"My hair is only long because I refused to spend money to cut my hair. Anything to save some money right?" she laughed out.

Robin maintained her composure but her heart dropped completely. Her best friend went through so much and she had no idea. Robin was about to say something when Nami cut her off before anything could be said.

"It's not your fault. It's no one's fault. Don't feel bad about it. I didn't want to worry anyone or be a burden. Look at it this way, I'm alive, I survived, and I'm here."

She gave Robin her biggest and brightest smile. Robin was at a loss and could only sigh in agreement. She couldn't argue with Nami when she made up her mind.

Robin finished her coffee and looked at Nami once more. She went through so much but pulled through. She knew her best friend was strong, but after hearing her story, she had so much more respect for Nami. She smiled and rested her cheek in her right palm as her elbow relaxed on the table.

"Nami, then next time you need something, or if you're in trouble, don't you dare ignore me or anyone else in the group."

Nami exhaled a bit seeing that smile on Robin's face. It was that smile of threat and being over protective. Nami somewhat feared that smile. It had untold wonders of completely reassuring someone or completely scaring them away. This smile had the right intensity to tell Nami that she shouldn't shun her friends again.

Speaking of her friends.

"Robin, what did you mean by "anyone else in the group"?"

Robin gave her a confused look.

"What do you mean? We've been waiting for you for two years Nami. Just because you left without a word doesn't mean you're not our friend. Luffy was absolutely upset he wasn't able to at least run into you once, which I do say, I'm impressed. East Blue is a small town and so is Grand Line. One way or another any one of us could have run into you but didn't. It really felt like you disappeared."

"How mad would you say Luffy was?" Nami laughed nervously.

"Oh Nami you didn't hear? Luffy went missing for about two weeks looking for you. Sanji and Zoro were just as worried about you and accompanied him. Ussop, Franky, Brook, and Chopper stayed behind and waited for you at school. I stayed at school with everyone else but it was hard keeping everything to myself. During those two weeks, the guys were eventually caught by Luffy's grandfather, who you know is the chief of police. They were put under police watch for about two months after the ruckus they caused." Robin laughed.

Nami was shocked. Had her disappearance really caused that much trouble for everyone? She looked at Robin with worry creeping its way into her face and Robin noticed. She only sighed at Nami and continued.

"You shouldn't be making that face. You know those guys well, and you know how they can get. Nami, none of it was your fault, so don't think that. I know you're wondering about the trouble you caused for everyone and you can stop right there."

Nami looked down at her now empty coffee mug and thought for a moment. It wasn't long after, that Nami began to blush a bit. She heard Robin mention that Sanji was worried. She looked at Robin quickly and Robin gave her a knowing smile.

"Some things haven't changed over these two years have they?" Robin laughed.

Nami wanted to ask about Sanji really badly. She finally gulped down her pride, sheepishly asked Robin, "So…um, how is…Sanji?"