The night was deep, and the dense forest was pitch black, with only the moon hanging high in the sky, casting its silvery light all over the ground. The leaves, illuminated to translucency, scattered shifting patches of light on the forest floor.
Nami's face was as red as a boiled shrimp, her forehead dotted with fine beads of sweat, her orange hair damp and clinging to her skin. Her arms were tightly wrapped around Bahr's neck, afraid she might fall if she loosened her grip even slightly. Yet, the inexplicable heat surging through her body left her flustered, her mind in a daze.
She recalled the moment she first met Bahr—how he had immediately demanded payment in Alabasta. Back then, she had no choice but to haggle fiercely, spittle flying as they argued, before finally settling on an agreement.
An agreement—more like drawing a line in the sand. But who would have thought… Nami bit her lip, cursing Bahr eight hundred times in her heart. That guy was nothing but a beast!
Bahr, holding Nami in his arms, listened to the distant clamor from the bonfire nearby. "I must say, your crew really has boundless energy. Three days of feasting, and they still aren't tired."
"What's it to you?" Nami huffed, turning her face away. "Meanwhile, you—surrounded by women, yet still bothering me. You've got some nerve."
The angrier she got, the deeper her nails dug into Bahr's arm.
"Oh?" Bahr chuckled, noticing the reddening tips of Nami's ears, deliberately drawing out his words to tease her. "Could it be… Nami-chan is jealous?"
"Pah! Jealous of what?" Nami snapped, though her eyes darted away. "If it weren't for owing you a favor, I wouldn't even bother with you!"
Bahr didn't respond. He knew Nami's temper all too well. If she truly didn't want anything to do with him, she'd have slipped away like a slippery fish long ago. She wouldn't still be here bickering with him.
In the end, she was just looking for a way to save face.
Leaning down, he pressed a light kiss to Nami's pouting lips, his voice softening coaxingly. "Them? They're just passing clouds. None of them compare to my precious Nami-chan."
"What about Conis?" Nami shot him a sidelong glance, her eyes narrowing slightly.
Bahr laughed in defense. "Now, Nami-chan, don't wrong me. My relationship with Miss Conis is purely academic—just discussing the history of Sky Island."
Yes, purely academic—just those "intimate, late-night discussions."
Nami scoffed. She knew exactly what he was like. Over the past few days, he'd been running off to see Conis constantly, claiming it was for "historical research." As if anyone would believe that! Did he think she was blind?
But even as she cursed him in her heart, a strange unease crept in. What right did she have to control Bahr? She was only indebted to him for Alabasta.
As for her feelings toward him… even she couldn't sort them out. At first, she'd gotten involved with him to save her village. But afterward, those intimate moments in the forest, on the ship's deck—the warmth of his touch, the teasing whispers between gasps—none of that had been fake.
Now, every time he leaned in with a request, she'd call him a "beast," but deep down, she didn't actually dislike it. In fact, there was even a bit of… something indescribable.
The more she thought about it, the more her heart fluttered like a cat's claws scratching at her. She quickly turned her face away, muttering with feigned indifference, "Who'd believe your nonsense? It's none of my business anyway. Just hurry up."
Bahr watched Nami's contradictory demeanor and chuckled softly without calling her out. With a sudden flex of his arm, Nami let out a surprised yelp and wrapped her arms around his neck. The next instant, the world spun violently around her—like a bucket plunging into a well before being yanked back to the surface.
The moonlight and tree shadows blurred into streaks of light, swirling dizzyingly before her eyes.
Under the night sky, Nami crouched beside a fern, adjusting her short skirt. The moonlight illuminated her flushed cheeks, her damp bangs clinging to her temples. She kicked aside a moss-covered rock and shot a sidelong glance at Bahr, who was leisurely puffing on a cigarette nearby. Her fingers tapped impatiently against the tree trunk. "Hey, time to pay up. Don't tell me you're trying to skip out on the gold?"
Bahr paused, the ember of his cigarette flickering in the dark. He glanced at Nami's gleaming eyes—the same look she got when staring at a chest full of Berries—and couldn't help muttering through gritted teeth, "Do you always have to be so money-obsessed...?"
With that, he pulled a teacup-sized lump of gold from his Space and tossed it into her palm.
The cold metal made her fingers twitch, but the moment she saw the size of the nugget, her lips curled in displeasure. "That's it? After all that trouble, you're seriously being this stingy?"
The gold gleamed warmly under the moonlight, but she still weighed it in her hand as if it weren't enough.
Bahr's eye twitched as he watched her tuck the gold into her belt, finding the whole scene both amusing and exasperating. "Can't we talk about something other than money? You make it sound like this is just some transaction."
They had agreed beforehand—gold in exchange for her "company." But seeing her demand payment so bluntly left him with an inexplicable discomfort.
Nami's fingers stilled on her belt, her ears burning. She abruptly stood up, brushing grass off her skirt, her voice half an octave higher than usual. "It is a transaction. Did you seriously expect me to develop real feelings for some playboy?"
"..."
Bahr took a drag from his cigarette, watching her before suddenly speaking. "Then let's make another deal. Leave the Straw Hat crew and become my Navigator. I'll give you all my gold."
A top-tier Navigator was beyond valuation—and Nami was doubly useful. More than worth the price.
Nami's fingers clenched around the gold nugget, its gleam almost blinding under the moonlight. She knew exactly how much gold he had—enough to gild every windmill in East Blue, buy the finest nautical instruments, even pave Cocoyashi Village's beach in gold...
But just as the thought crossed her mind, Luffy's boisterous laughter rang out from the bonfire, Usopp was loudly telling jokes, and Sanji was eagerly offering plates of food...
"Who'd want to join you?!" Nami stuffed the gold into her belt and pulled a disgusted face. "All you do is mess with me—what else is there?"
With that, she turned and strode toward the bonfire, her shadow stretching long under the moonlight. Yet her fingers tightened around the gold, the metal's chill doing nothing to quell the heat in her palm.
Bahr watched Nami's retreating figure as she jogged back to the bonfire and couldn't help but laugh under his breath. "This Little Cat Burglar and her contradictions."
Stubbing the burnt-out cigarette butt into the sand, he turned and headed toward the eastern shore. He'd come to talk to Nami about old Alabasta debts, not to attend some banquet!
"Nami-swan~ This is a specially prepared honey mustard sauce roasted rock salt pork chop~" Sanji approached with a plate, hearts in his eyes as he fawned: "Fresh out of the oven, please try it while it's hot~"
Nami accepted the glistening pork chop: "Thanks, Sanji."
"Serving the beautiful Nami-swan is my honor~" Sanji knelt on one knee, gazing up at Nami whose ear tips were turning pink. "Where did you go earlier, Nami-swan? You were gone so long—I searched everywhere~"
Nami paused mid-bite, nearly dripping grease on her skirt. She swallowed quickly and mumbled an excuse: "Just... went to the woods for some air, that's all."
Sanji studied Nami's evasive gaze, his mind racing—something's off about Nami-swan today!!
"Maybe I'm overthinking it..." Sanji shook his head before dashing back toward the kitchen tent: "Wait for me, Nami-swan! I'll grill you a truffle lamb chop~"