Author's Note: Alright, here's that last chapter! :D I decided to hold off before posting it. I wanted the last chapter before this to sink in a bit, seeing as it was a cliffhanger, and I was also hoping for some reviews. xD Anyways, enjoy the last chapter! :D

Charmed Heart

Chapter 13

Luffy groaned, feeling as if there was a burning sensation all throughout the inside of his body. His eyes rolled opened, but his vision was blurry, seeing only shadows moving around about him, and then his ears picked up muffled cries.

"Luffy! Luffy, can you hear me!?"

"Here, give him some water."

"Luffy - Luffy, here, I need you to drink some water, okay?"

Luffy groaned again, and his mouth did indeed feel like sandpaper, and the voices were finally becoming coherent enough for him to be able to tell who was talking. He was sure it was Ace and his grandfather, though his grandfather sounded calmer than Ace. Luffy felt the glass at his lips and hands helping him to sit up so that he could drink.

"Luffy, how do you feel?"

The hands holding him, they were his father's, as was the voice asking after him. He drank deeply of the water until it was all gone, but then he finally managed to rasp out, "I'm fine… I think…" However, he then frowned, seeing as he did not hear the one voice he really wanted to hear in that moment, and so he glanced about the room. "Where…?" he started, but then he blinked at his surroundings. "What happened? We're back at the guild?"

"That's right," Garp replied, and when Luffy looked at him, he could see the deep frown creasing his aged brows.

"Okay, so what happened?" Luffy asked, becoming confused as he looked to each face, and then he noticed Sabo leaning against the back wall and gazing at him in concern. His family was all there, but where was Nami?

"You died," Garp growled out, sounding very unhappy.

"What?" Luffy asked, even more confused as he looked to each face. It was obvious that he was not dead.

"We're just lucky as fuck Law and Chopper were able to revive the both of you. It took a really long ass time, and damn it, it scared us," Sabo said as he sighed, just glad to see his brother awake again. He pushed off the wall and moved over towards the bed. "Both you and Ace nearly died on us. Chopper and Law saved you both."

There was no mention of Nami at all, and this had him worried, but if there was really need for concern, his family would have said something, right? "And our enemies? I take it that it worked?"

"Again, you're just lucky that it did, and that it didn't kill you… permanently! They were apprehended and sent back to the prison, along with Teach and Doflamingo. What the hell did you do, anyway?" Garp asked in his rough and rumbling voice of anger.

"Nami used me as a conduit. I was able to reach her heart, and I asked her to help me take out our enemies. I thought I could handle it," Luffy said, lifting a hand to his head, again looking about.

"You idiot! You're not made of rubber, even if you can turn yourself into it! Your body has limits, and it nearly singed completely from the inside! You've been in a coma for two weeks! Ace is already all healed up, and here you still are! And to make matters worse, the guilt of it nearly took her too!" Garp growled, looking beyond angry now. No, his grandfather was furious. "She was so distraught; she couldn't even tell us what happened!"

"Nami," Luffy whispered as tears came to his eyes, and again, he looked around as if she might be hiding somewhere. "Where - Where is she?"

They all went silent, but then Ace rolled his eyes downward and said, "She left."

"Left?" Luffy whispered, breathless. She left? He appeared as if he had not heard that right at all.

"Yes, left, you idiot!" Garp spat, and it seemed to Luffy, he wanted to continue reminding him of his idiocy.

He really was an idiot, but he had wanted to save his family and her. He had not thought about himself at all or what losing him would have done to her. He had known what it could have done to him, but he had to do it… just as her great grandfather had to.

"We did our best for her, but… nothing and no one could comfort her," Dragon muttered as he lowered his head.

"Where?" Luffy rasped, feeling a pain within his heart, and even though she was not there to make him feel it, he still felt it. Of course, he knew it was just his own pain.

Ace sighed and said, "She went home, Luffy-"

"I have to go!" Luffy said as he threw back the covers and swiveled to stand, but the moment he did, he crumpled to the ground.

"Oye, Luffy! Hold on a minute!" Ace said, reaching down to pick him back up again. "I told her I'd go there to see her and Nojiko once you woke up… or didn't," he said and cleared his throat.

Luffy looked up at him with huge eyes, but then he nodded as if in understanding, but then he lowered his head again. With Sabo and Ace's help, and after they had unhooked him to what was keeping him alive, he got back up to his feet and allowed Ace and Sabo to help him change.

x x x x

As they walked along the halls, Ace said, "She took Mini Merry. I'm sure Sunny and Strawhat won't mind taking us. Sabo and I can just share."

"Wait," Luffy said as he glanced towards the back gardens, "where is Scales? Is he okay?"

"Yeah, yeah he's okay. Ace and I have been taking care of him for you," Sabo said as he and Ace also glanced to the back.

"Let's take Scales… Faster," Luffy said, heading towards the back instead.

"Uh, yeah, okay… Just hope we don't give them heart attacks…" Ace muttered as he and Sabo followed after Luffy, to also make sure he did not kill over. Ace then glanced over to Luffy, somewhat amazed he had not even realized just yet. "So, how do you feel, really?" he asked out of the blue.

"I feel fine. Just a bit sore, why?" he asked as he kept walking.

Ace and Sabo exchanged looks, and now they were feeling a bit of amusement as small smiles touched their lips. Sabo then asked, "Feeling fine, really? Are you sure?"

Luffy stopped and turned to look at them with a frown. "I said I was fine. Why do you both keep asking?"

A bit of laughter spilled out of Ace and Sabo as they again exchanged looks, and then they turned back to stare Luffy down in their amusement. "Luffy, Nami left days ago," Ace said as he chuckled.

Luffy blinked to this, even more confused to Ace's random statement as he looked between Ace and Sabo, and Sabo seemed to be on the same page as Ace, but Luffy did not even know what book they were even in. "Ace, what the hell are you going on about!? Are you sure it's not the both of you who aren't fine?"

"Luffy," Ace said, grasping a hold of Luffy's shoulders, "you feel fine, and Nami left days ago. If you haven't noticed… you're not wearing the charm either."

Luffy blinked to this, and then his head snapped down as he clutched at his chest, and then his head snapped back ups, his eyes huge. "I feel fine."

"You feel fine," Ace said and grinned back at Luffy.

"I feel… rested. Holy shit, I feel rested!" Luffy exclaimed, amazed.

"Hell yeah!" Sabo said as he began to laugh. "We noticed before she left that you seemed to be getting better, even when she had to be alone for a while."

Ace chuckled and said, "She always promised she'd come back, so you'd get your rest, but we could always tell before, even when you were unconscious. We had the experts look at you, and they couldn't feel the curse in you anymore. It's gone, Luffy."

Tears came to Luffy's eyes, but then he released a hard breath. He then just nodded and continued on. Ace and Sabo both lost their smiles as they again exchanged looks, but then they sighed as they followed after their little brother. They knew their brother just needed to see Nami, especially after learning that.

x x x x

When Nami heard the screams and cries in alarm, she made her way out of her house and saw the large overcast shadow zoom past. She looked up, seeing the large dragon circling overhead. Tears blurred her vision, and when the others made their way inside their houses, she made her way out to where the dragon was making his landing.

"Na-chan! What are you doing!?" Gen yelled after her in shock as she made her way towards the dragon.

"Nami!" Nojiko cried as she rushed out of the house after her. When Nami had showed up, she could not get much out of her, other than Luffy was not doing well after the war, and that it had been her fault. She, at least, told her Ace was doing better, but had wanted to stay with his brother, to which Nojiko was grateful for. Now she was terrified that her sister was going after a dragon. Could she really handle a dragon?

She followed after her sister, against her better judgement, but seeing as the dragon landed, and had not set fire to anything, her apprehension began to fade. She then blinked and froze, seeing both Luffy and Ace slide off the dragon's back along with a blonde man she had not seen before. Since when had they gotten a dragon?

Seeing Luffy slide off from Scales and make his way over towards her, Nami burst into tears and took off running towards him.

"Nami," Luffy whispered, his own tears forming as he held his arms open to her. She ran straight into his arms and jumped up to wrap her legs around him as well. He almost did not have the strength to carry her, but he would be damned if he failed her again by falling. "Nami, I'm so sorry! I'm sorry!" he whispered as he held her tight against him.

She shook her head and cried, "I thought I'd lose you! I woke up when Law was trying to revive you! It took so long, and I thought I'd lost you like she lost him! It would have been my fault! I did that to you!"

"No! No, Nami! I asked you to! It was all on me! I'm so sorry for doing this to you and making you feel this way! I'm so sorry!" he whispered, managing to tighten his hold in an attempt to comfort her.

"I'm sorry I didn't stay! I couldn't! I don't know what I would have done if you died! After we found out you weren't cursed anymore, I just couldn't be there… I was so scared, but leaving didn't change anything… I still worried, but I just needed to see my sister… I needed her to tell me everything would be okay," she whispered with a sniffle.

"It's okay, Nami. I understand. I'm not mad. I'm not mad at you at all. There's nothing to forgive or for you to be sorry for," he whispered to her as he rocked her to and fro.

This only seemed to make her cry harder. She then pulled back, clutched his face and kissed him hard to show him just how much she loved him. He kissed her back just as hard, needing to show her the same.

Nojiko huffed out with some laughter as tears came to her eyes, but then she shifted her eyes to Ace, glad to see him. Moving around the couple, she went to him, throwing her arms around him. "Hey… I'm glad you're both okay."

"Me too," Ace whispered as he hugged her back. "I'm sorry about the old man and how he made you leave. He's really not so bad… and actually, he really cares about you and your sister. He was furious when Luffy woke up," he said and chuckled.

Luffy winced to Ace's words as he pulled back to look at Nami. "It's true. The old man really let me have it, and he was adamant that I make things right with you again. He was really worried about you."

This made Nami smile through her tears, and then she said, "He was really worried about you too, Luffy."

"I dunno about that. I think he loves you more than me," Luffy said with a grin, making her bubble with laughter.

Nojiko huffed, but then she sighed as she thought about this. "I was mad about him making me leave, but I think I get it. He was just trying to protect Nami, right? And me too. It was important. He did kind of explain it a little to me, but I guess I was just too mad to really listen. He didn't want me anywhere near this war."

"Yeah, it was… really horrible. I don't suppose I'll be getting good sleep for some time now after the things I saw," Ace muttered as he lowered his eyes.

"Same," Sabo whispered as he did the same.

"Yeah," Luffy said and lowered his head. "Ace and Sabo… told me on the way here how many we lost and who… Said they already buried them… I missed it all…"

"You saved so many, though," Nami whispered, caressing his cheek with her finger. "We could have lost many more if you hadn't done what you did."

"You helped too, Nami," he said as he smiled up at her.

"Yeah," she replied with a smile, and then she released a bit of laughter.

Luffy grinned back at her, happy to see her so happy as well. When he thought about her happiness, he could not help it as his eyes lowered to where her pendant sat. Only, he lost his smile when he saw she was not wearing it. "Nami, where's your pendant? You're supposed to be wearing it at all times… right?" he asked as he looked up at her.

Losing her smile as well, she grasped the empty place over her chest and said, "The old man and I both agreed it was too dangerous for me to keep… Its… Her will was too strong. He locked it up with the other cursed items."

Luffy's frown changed into a softer one, and then he whispered, "I see… I understand. I'm sorry, Nami."

"It's okay," she whispered and kissed his nose.

Scales groaned and leaned in towards Nami, nudging her a bit over Luffy's head.

"Hey, Scales, I missed you, too," Nami said, reaching up to caress his snout.

"So, a dragon, huh? Luffy, you amaze me," Nojiko said as she looked up at the dragon in awe.

Luffy snickered and said, "Scales isn't mine. He's Nami's. She tamed him."

"What!?" Nojiko exclaimed in shock.

"That's about the same reaction I had," Ace said and laughed.

"Shit, me too," Sabo said and laughed.

"You're going to have to tell me all about this!" Nojiko exclaimed in amazement of her sister, and then she looked over at Sabo. "So, who have we got here?"

"Ah, sorry! Nojiko, meet Luffy's and my brother, Sabo!" Ace said, bringing Sabo closer, who grinned at Nojiko.

"Hello Nojiko! I really wanted to meet you!" Sabo said as he held out a hand to her.

"Your guys' brother, huh?" Nojiko said with a chuckle as she stepped up, ignoring his hand and hugging him. "It's a pleasure to meet you then, Sabo!"

Sabo grinned wider as he hugged her and said, "It's definitely my pleasure!"

"Na-chan? Nojiko?" Gen questioned as he approached with caution.

"It's alright, Gen. Scales won't hurt you or anyone," Nami said, turning to look at him over her shoulder, seeing as Luffy still held her.

Gen released a breath in relief as he approached the rest of the way. "You nearly scared us half to death, boy! What ever possessed you to bring a dragon here!?"

"Oh, stop yelling at him. Scales is harmless!" Nami said, urging Luffy to set her down.

"Sorry, scarred guy, I wanted to get here fast. Scales is the fastest," Luffy said, petting Scales, who beamed at the praise and gave a happy groan.

"We should cook dinner and celebrate!" Nojiko said as she released Sabo and took Ace's hand as she headed back to her and Nami's house.

"Ooh, food! I like this idea!" Luffy said, taking Nami's hand and following after.

"Hell yeah! Food is always awesome!" Sabo said as he followed after them.

Gen grumbled something about mages, glancing back at this dragon before following after the five as he scratched his head.

Luffy snickered as they walked, and then he said for only Nami to hear, "We should have another feast and celebration back at the guild, and we should invite the scarred old man."

"Oh? You mean when we get back?" she asked, looking over at him. "We could bring him back with us."

"Yeah," he said and grinned, "because I think he'd want to be there."

"For the celebration?" she asked, but blinked at him when he stopped her from going inside her house with the others.

Luffy snickered again, but this time it was a soft snicker as was the smile he showed to her. "For our wedding, Nami. Let's get married once we get back."

Looking up at him with huge eyes, she really thought about this and everything that happened. Tears came to her eyes, and then she answered with a quick nod. "Yes, I want to do that," she whispered, throwing her arms around him. "I love you so much, Luffy!"

A big, bright grin formed over his face, causing his eyes to close, and he snickered in his joy. He held her tight, nuzzling her as his own tears formed, and then he whispered, "I love you, too… forever."

When he opened his eyes again, both were glowing a brilliant blue as he gazed off behind her with a softer smile.

"Even after death, my love…"

The End…

Ending Author's Note: Please tell me you get the ending, LOL! Let me know in your reviews if you get it. ;) I really hope you guys enjoyed this fic, and I would enjoy it if you guys left me reviews to let me know! :D Reviews are my encouragement, inspiration and motivation to write! :D Anyways, until next time! ;) Love you guys!