Categories > Anime/Manga > One Piece > Sitting on the Waves
13 : The More Things Change
0 reviewsOn a little island, Nami has begun a big change. Is it part of a plan by a mysterious pair? What could their intentions be?
0Unrated
ONE PIECE
SITTING ON THE WAVES
CHAPTER 13: THE MORE THINGS CHANGE
BY
Sgamer82
It was late in the afternoon when Leda stood over the prisoners. Huncaza's men, arrested by Redisca's villagers and brought before Leda, sat on the grass in front of the Chibi no Mi tied up in a row. Leda's injuries were gone. Once she had regained consciousness, she was able to use her aging powers to speed up the healing process. She wasn't immune to scars, though, and a small row of them now ran across her stomach. Now healed, it was time to deal with other matters. Tirsni, Battako, Coverque, and the hired muscle watched as Leda paced back and forth in front of them. Each of them were struck with the mental image of a matron preparing to punish a group of naughty children.
"Huncaza is gone." she said. Leda had shown them the infant Huncaza. They knew precisely what she meant, "Now, you were not directly involved in Huncaza's crime of harming my children. However, you did aid and abet his plans. With that in mind, I am prepared to offer you a choice."
The bounty hunters weren't sure they liked where this was headed.
"You all, more likely than not, have done some deeds that the World Government and the Navy would be interested in hearing about. You allied yourselves with Huncaza because he worked with the government. It protected you from unwanted scrutiny. But now, that protection is gone. Chances are your checkered pasts are about to catch up with you very soon."
They definitely didn't like where this was heading.
"So, here is your choice: I will set you free. But I will do so with every intention of reporting your deeds to the Navy once you are gone. Otherwise, you can submit to me, and join our happy little family here. I will even allow you to be the age of your choice, so long as it is under eight years. I will need plenty of time to make sure you grow up right."
Leda left them to mull over the choice for a moment. There wasn't much of one, to some of them. Leda had been right on the mark with some of them. Huncaza, as a bounty hunter with government ties, had given them legitimacy that had, until now, protected them. So now they were left to decide between escaping with a small head start, at best. Or they could have the problem removed a different way.
"Hmph." Tirsni snorted, "I ain't done nothin' to worry about. The Navy won't care about me. I'll be on my way."
"Very well." Leda gestured to a man standing nearby, who cut the sniper loose, "Anyone else?"
The others hesitated. Tirsni was really still a kid himself, the same age as most of the Straw Hats. Unlike the others, he hadn't had a good chance to get himself into trouble yet.
"I... I'll stay..." Coverque said eventually, "I'll stay here. I can't be caught..."
Half the hired men had opted to be released with Tirsni. However, a few, along with Coverque and also Battako, chose to remain in Redisca. When those leaving were cut loose and sent on their way, Leda addressed those remaining.
"Now that's settled, I have some business to attend to. I'll leave you to start thinking about what you'd like to do with your second chance. We'll take care of you when I return."
Leda then left to rectify a serious mistake if it wasn't already too late.
----------
The sun had begun to set as some of the Going Merry's crew were playing cards. Luffy, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper sat on the deck playing. Sanji had busied himself making refreshments for everyone to tide them over until dinner. Zoro was training with his swords. Robin took her medicine, eye drops Chopper had mixed for her. The card players called time out on their game to watch that. Robin didn't take eye drops in the conventional way. She sat in a shady spot under one of Nami's tangerine trees and made a right eye blossom right out of the floor. It was hard for the others to decide if they should've been intrigued or disgusted by the eye, which was red and bloodshot. Robin, not noticing or not bothered by the audience, applied the drops to it. When she finished Luffy and company went back to their game, making a note to come back in three or four hours, when Robin was to take her medicine next.
"Nami," Usopp asked, "What are you doing?"
Nami currently held nearly a dozen cards in her hand.
"The more cards you have the better player you are."
"Where did you hear that?" Usopp asked. He was surprised when she pointed to Chopper, who also had a dozen cards in his hand.
"And you got it from?" Chopper pointed to Luffy. He had two dozen cards in his hand. When Usopp realized the three of them were holding nearly the entire deck, he put down his measly three cards and walked off; trying to ignore Luffy's telling Chopper and Nami that he had lost because he had the fewest cards. That was when he saw people on the path to the docks. Usopp pulled down one of his headset's lenses and turned it, zooming in on the person who walked towards the docks.
"Hey! Everyone!" he called, "It's Leda!"
Usopp lowered a gangplank for Leda so she could come aboard. Everyone eyed her with skepticism. Only Nami, unaware of Leda's role in recent events, greeted her happily.
"Good afternoon." Leda said with a polite bow, "I have come to say a few things. And also to hopefully fix the problem I have caused. But, before I begin..." she glanced carefully to Nami. Usopp caught the hint.
"Hey, Nami. How about we go to the dining room. I got a story for you."
"You do?!" Nami asked excitedly, "What's it about?"
"A princess, who becomes a thief to save her people from evil fish monsters!"
"Woah!!" Nami cried out.
Usopp led Nami away. It had been his idea to tell Nami her own story in this fashion. At best, it would be a simple distraction to keep Nami entertained for a little while. But, should the worst come to pass, it was the crew's hope hearing the story beforehand would help to soften the inevitable heartache that would come from seeing her sister far older than she remembered and learning that her mother had been dead for the past eight years. Leda waited until Nami was out of earshot before she began.
"First, I would like to apologize for all I have done. While I would like to say that Huncaza deceived me. That he tricked me into violating my most sacred of oaths. I will not. They are true, but that does not change what I have done. I always teach my children to never run from responsibility. I couldn't raise them well if I didn't live by the very same principles. Therefore, I apologize. I confess my understanding that apologies are of little help. Which brings me to why I have come. I can promise nothing, but I will attempt to restore Nami to the way she was."
"Really?!" Luffy asked.
"But..." Zoro said, sensing a catch.
"There is a legitimate chance I will be unable to do so. I have always been able to affect myself either way, as you can see."
Leda was currently back to how they had met her, a woman in her mid-thirties.
"But, honestly, I do not remember any time that I progressed another person's age. Even if I can do so in body, I do not know if I could do so in mind."
Luffy, Zoro, and Chopper stared at her blankly. Sanji and Robin were the first to understand.
"You're saying, Madam, is that even if you can give Miss Nami back her adult body, she may still possess a child's mind?"
"Meaning that even attempting this could be pointless." Robin added. Leda nodded.
"Should that happen, I will immediately put Nami back at five years. She will, of course, be welcome to remain he-"
"That won't be necessary." Zoro interrupted.
"We'll take her home." Luffy said, "We'll go all the way back to the start of the Grand Line if we have to."
"Miss Nami has an elder sister who we know will gladly take care of her."
"I see." Leda smiled, "Only now do I see how badly Huncaza deceived me. You truly are good friends to her. I am happy to know she will be protected ,whatever the outcome."
It was no lie. While it wasn't even for a full day, Leda considered Nami one of her children. No different than any other boy or girl at the orphanage. It was a great comfort to her to know Nami would be safe.
"Shall I begin immediately?" Leda asked.
"Let's wait until she's done with her story." Robin suggested, "I've heard it's worth listening to."
Leda joined the crew as they watched Usopp spin his tale. Except Luffy and Zoro, who fell asleep, Usopp had his audience riveted to their seats. Especially Nami, who was bouncing in excitement when the story was full of action, and crying her eyes out when Usopp had reached the sad points. Even Sanji, the only one aside from Usopp who knew the story already, was impressed. He was telling it almost exactly as they ha been told by Nojiko. Despite Usopp's preference to exaggerate, he knew how important this was. He changed nothing in the story except the fact that its "Princess" was Nami herself.
Leda listened intently, knowing what it was she was hearing. When the story was finished, Nami was laughing out loud at the thief princess' robbing everyone in her kingdom before sailing away with the pirates that saved her island. Once she had calmed down, Leda took her to the womens' quarters, where Robin had laid out some of Nami's adult sized clothing. Her current dress wasn't going to fit if this succeeded.
After having Nami undress, Leda put her hand on the girl's forehead. Leda concentrated, harder than she had on anything before in her life. She felt her hand slowly rise as Nami's body grew taller. As Nami approached adolescence the mark of "Saw-Tooth" Arlong appeared on the back of her left shoulder. As she reached her late teens and true age, the tattoo changed to another. A pinwheel with a tangerine on its top wing. When Leda released Nami's head, she saw Nami was approximately at the same age she had been when they first met at the Nursery. It was hard to know with concrete certainty, but Leda had a feeling she was at the right point. But, this was only the body. Now for the real test.
"Nami?"
Nami slouched a little and groaned before holding up her head, suddenly alert.
"M-Mi... Ms. Leda?" Nami asked. Leda nodded. Nami recognized her, but that wasn't a sure sign.
"Where are you?" Leda asked. Nami looked at her surroundings before answering.
"This is my room on the /Merry/."
"And on what island is the ship docked?"
"Re... Redisca island?" Nami answered.
"Very good. One more. How old are you?"
"What?" Nami asked, becoming more aware of her surroundings, "That's a silly question. I'm eighteen years old. Now, I have a few questions of my own. One, why are you on the /Merry/? Two, why am I naked? And three..."
Outside, all the crew heard Nami's yelling and smiled. There was no doubt. Their navigator was back.
SITTING ON THE WAVES
CHAPTER 13: THE MORE THINGS CHANGE
BY
Sgamer82
It was late in the afternoon when Leda stood over the prisoners. Huncaza's men, arrested by Redisca's villagers and brought before Leda, sat on the grass in front of the Chibi no Mi tied up in a row. Leda's injuries were gone. Once she had regained consciousness, she was able to use her aging powers to speed up the healing process. She wasn't immune to scars, though, and a small row of them now ran across her stomach. Now healed, it was time to deal with other matters. Tirsni, Battako, Coverque, and the hired muscle watched as Leda paced back and forth in front of them. Each of them were struck with the mental image of a matron preparing to punish a group of naughty children.
"Huncaza is gone." she said. Leda had shown them the infant Huncaza. They knew precisely what she meant, "Now, you were not directly involved in Huncaza's crime of harming my children. However, you did aid and abet his plans. With that in mind, I am prepared to offer you a choice."
The bounty hunters weren't sure they liked where this was headed.
"You all, more likely than not, have done some deeds that the World Government and the Navy would be interested in hearing about. You allied yourselves with Huncaza because he worked with the government. It protected you from unwanted scrutiny. But now, that protection is gone. Chances are your checkered pasts are about to catch up with you very soon."
They definitely didn't like where this was heading.
"So, here is your choice: I will set you free. But I will do so with every intention of reporting your deeds to the Navy once you are gone. Otherwise, you can submit to me, and join our happy little family here. I will even allow you to be the age of your choice, so long as it is under eight years. I will need plenty of time to make sure you grow up right."
Leda left them to mull over the choice for a moment. There wasn't much of one, to some of them. Leda had been right on the mark with some of them. Huncaza, as a bounty hunter with government ties, had given them legitimacy that had, until now, protected them. So now they were left to decide between escaping with a small head start, at best. Or they could have the problem removed a different way.
"Hmph." Tirsni snorted, "I ain't done nothin' to worry about. The Navy won't care about me. I'll be on my way."
"Very well." Leda gestured to a man standing nearby, who cut the sniper loose, "Anyone else?"
The others hesitated. Tirsni was really still a kid himself, the same age as most of the Straw Hats. Unlike the others, he hadn't had a good chance to get himself into trouble yet.
"I... I'll stay..." Coverque said eventually, "I'll stay here. I can't be caught..."
Half the hired men had opted to be released with Tirsni. However, a few, along with Coverque and also Battako, chose to remain in Redisca. When those leaving were cut loose and sent on their way, Leda addressed those remaining.
"Now that's settled, I have some business to attend to. I'll leave you to start thinking about what you'd like to do with your second chance. We'll take care of you when I return."
Leda then left to rectify a serious mistake if it wasn't already too late.
----------
The sun had begun to set as some of the Going Merry's crew were playing cards. Luffy, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper sat on the deck playing. Sanji had busied himself making refreshments for everyone to tide them over until dinner. Zoro was training with his swords. Robin took her medicine, eye drops Chopper had mixed for her. The card players called time out on their game to watch that. Robin didn't take eye drops in the conventional way. She sat in a shady spot under one of Nami's tangerine trees and made a right eye blossom right out of the floor. It was hard for the others to decide if they should've been intrigued or disgusted by the eye, which was red and bloodshot. Robin, not noticing or not bothered by the audience, applied the drops to it. When she finished Luffy and company went back to their game, making a note to come back in three or four hours, when Robin was to take her medicine next.
"Nami," Usopp asked, "What are you doing?"
Nami currently held nearly a dozen cards in her hand.
"The more cards you have the better player you are."
"Where did you hear that?" Usopp asked. He was surprised when she pointed to Chopper, who also had a dozen cards in his hand.
"And you got it from?" Chopper pointed to Luffy. He had two dozen cards in his hand. When Usopp realized the three of them were holding nearly the entire deck, he put down his measly three cards and walked off; trying to ignore Luffy's telling Chopper and Nami that he had lost because he had the fewest cards. That was when he saw people on the path to the docks. Usopp pulled down one of his headset's lenses and turned it, zooming in on the person who walked towards the docks.
"Hey! Everyone!" he called, "It's Leda!"
Usopp lowered a gangplank for Leda so she could come aboard. Everyone eyed her with skepticism. Only Nami, unaware of Leda's role in recent events, greeted her happily.
"Good afternoon." Leda said with a polite bow, "I have come to say a few things. And also to hopefully fix the problem I have caused. But, before I begin..." she glanced carefully to Nami. Usopp caught the hint.
"Hey, Nami. How about we go to the dining room. I got a story for you."
"You do?!" Nami asked excitedly, "What's it about?"
"A princess, who becomes a thief to save her people from evil fish monsters!"
"Woah!!" Nami cried out.
Usopp led Nami away. It had been his idea to tell Nami her own story in this fashion. At best, it would be a simple distraction to keep Nami entertained for a little while. But, should the worst come to pass, it was the crew's hope hearing the story beforehand would help to soften the inevitable heartache that would come from seeing her sister far older than she remembered and learning that her mother had been dead for the past eight years. Leda waited until Nami was out of earshot before she began.
"First, I would like to apologize for all I have done. While I would like to say that Huncaza deceived me. That he tricked me into violating my most sacred of oaths. I will not. They are true, but that does not change what I have done. I always teach my children to never run from responsibility. I couldn't raise them well if I didn't live by the very same principles. Therefore, I apologize. I confess my understanding that apologies are of little help. Which brings me to why I have come. I can promise nothing, but I will attempt to restore Nami to the way she was."
"Really?!" Luffy asked.
"But..." Zoro said, sensing a catch.
"There is a legitimate chance I will be unable to do so. I have always been able to affect myself either way, as you can see."
Leda was currently back to how they had met her, a woman in her mid-thirties.
"But, honestly, I do not remember any time that I progressed another person's age. Even if I can do so in body, I do not know if I could do so in mind."
Luffy, Zoro, and Chopper stared at her blankly. Sanji and Robin were the first to understand.
"You're saying, Madam, is that even if you can give Miss Nami back her adult body, she may still possess a child's mind?"
"Meaning that even attempting this could be pointless." Robin added. Leda nodded.
"Should that happen, I will immediately put Nami back at five years. She will, of course, be welcome to remain he-"
"That won't be necessary." Zoro interrupted.
"We'll take her home." Luffy said, "We'll go all the way back to the start of the Grand Line if we have to."
"Miss Nami has an elder sister who we know will gladly take care of her."
"I see." Leda smiled, "Only now do I see how badly Huncaza deceived me. You truly are good friends to her. I am happy to know she will be protected ,whatever the outcome."
It was no lie. While it wasn't even for a full day, Leda considered Nami one of her children. No different than any other boy or girl at the orphanage. It was a great comfort to her to know Nami would be safe.
"Shall I begin immediately?" Leda asked.
"Let's wait until she's done with her story." Robin suggested, "I've heard it's worth listening to."
Leda joined the crew as they watched Usopp spin his tale. Except Luffy and Zoro, who fell asleep, Usopp had his audience riveted to their seats. Especially Nami, who was bouncing in excitement when the story was full of action, and crying her eyes out when Usopp had reached the sad points. Even Sanji, the only one aside from Usopp who knew the story already, was impressed. He was telling it almost exactly as they ha been told by Nojiko. Despite Usopp's preference to exaggerate, he knew how important this was. He changed nothing in the story except the fact that its "Princess" was Nami herself.
Leda listened intently, knowing what it was she was hearing. When the story was finished, Nami was laughing out loud at the thief princess' robbing everyone in her kingdom before sailing away with the pirates that saved her island. Once she had calmed down, Leda took her to the womens' quarters, where Robin had laid out some of Nami's adult sized clothing. Her current dress wasn't going to fit if this succeeded.
After having Nami undress, Leda put her hand on the girl's forehead. Leda concentrated, harder than she had on anything before in her life. She felt her hand slowly rise as Nami's body grew taller. As Nami approached adolescence the mark of "Saw-Tooth" Arlong appeared on the back of her left shoulder. As she reached her late teens and true age, the tattoo changed to another. A pinwheel with a tangerine on its top wing. When Leda released Nami's head, she saw Nami was approximately at the same age she had been when they first met at the Nursery. It was hard to know with concrete certainty, but Leda had a feeling she was at the right point. But, this was only the body. Now for the real test.
"Nami?"
Nami slouched a little and groaned before holding up her head, suddenly alert.
"M-Mi... Ms. Leda?" Nami asked. Leda nodded. Nami recognized her, but that wasn't a sure sign.
"Where are you?" Leda asked. Nami looked at her surroundings before answering.
"This is my room on the /Merry/."
"And on what island is the ship docked?"
"Re... Redisca island?" Nami answered.
"Very good. One more. How old are you?"
"What?" Nami asked, becoming more aware of her surroundings, "That's a silly question. I'm eighteen years old. Now, I have a few questions of my own. One, why are you on the /Merry/? Two, why am I naked? And three..."
Outside, all the crew heard Nami's yelling and smiled. There was no doubt. Their navigator was back.
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