I can't believe it…another fic. groans But I have to! I can't keep my ideas at bay! And for lack of a better disclaimer person at the moment, the concussed Bankotsu has the honors.

Bankotsu: Yeah…relative disclaimers and stuff like that…I think I'm supposed to say something funny about Kinkatia and the ownership of One Piece, but my head hurts too much to remember…

The Past, The Present, And The Future

"No, Yukio! Stop it!" The small red-haired girl cowered away from the boy standing over her. She could not have been more than two years old, but it seemed as if the boy didn't care. He kicked her in the side, sending her fragile body sliding across the ground.

Thunder rumbled across the sky, and rain poured heavily, as if the clouds have been viciously torn open. The wind howled angrily, voicing its fury to the only two living beings that dared to venture out into the storm.

"Stop sniveling, Nami!" the boy growled angrily, walking over to her with slow, deliberate steps.

"Why are you hurting me, Yukio?" she asked, not moving from the ground. She was too small to comprehend it; he was her brother, the only family she had left. He was supposed to protect her; that's what Papa had said. He was supposed to make sure she was happy. Then why…why would he hurt her?

He stopped, staring down at her distastefully. His red locks had turned a deep brown from the soaking they were being subjected to. His green eyes burned with pent up rage and fury. "It's your fault," he growled. "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Tears fell from her eyes, mingling with the rainwater that was dripping down her face. Ever since Papa had left, everything had been her fault. She couldn't do anything right; she was useless. But now, she didn't even know what she had done. Yukio had just started hurting her, for no reason. "I don't understand!" she cried, getting to her knees. "What did I do, brother?"

"Shut up!" he screamed, grabbing the front of her drenched shirt and lifting her up to his face. "You have no right to call me your brother! You killed her! Mama's gone because of you, and because of you, Papa left us!"

Nami still didn't understand. She was too young to know the pang of death, and what it meant. And she was too young to understand that she had indeed killed their mother, though it wasn't her fault. Mothers often died in the throes of giving birth, when complications arose.

"But Papa said he would come back," she replied, confused and afraid.

"He only said that so you wouldn't start crying like a baby!" Yukio snarled. "He's never coming back! He's abandoned us, and it's all because of you! You look too much like Mama, and he couldn't stand the sight of you anymore!"

He dropped her unceremoniously to the ground. "I hate you," he sneered. "You deserve to be dead, too!"

She stumbled to her feet and ran. It was the only thing she could do. She rushed blindly on, small legs pumping as fast as they could go. Yukio shouted, chasing after her as another peal of thunder tore through the heavens.

Then…she tripped. With a cry of pain, she went sprawling. In the next instant, her brother was standing over her. "I've just had an idea," he said coldly, looking at the cliff they had been running along. "Maybe it's time you learned how to swim…"

What happened next was terrifying. A blue light forked down from the raging sky and descended upon Yukio. It was there for an instant, and then it was gone. He screamed in agony, and took a step forward, blindly, and tripped over his little sister. He fell over the cliff, and his screams were overpowered by the thunder.

Nami awoke with a start, drenched in sweat. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had that nightmare. She lifted her hands to her face, only to find she was shaking uncontrollably. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, vaguely wondering what had caused the old dream to resurface.

The cabin was suddenly suffocating. She felt small and afraid, and yet at the same time, she felt as if the walls around her were closing in, trapping her in an infinitely smaller space. Shaking her head, she decided she needed some fresh air.

She got to her feet and immediately noticed the unusual stillness of the ship. It was usually swaying back and forth with the gentle motion of the waves. But now…it was eerily calm. Ignoring the fear that was creeping up inside her, she swiftly left the cabin and made her way into the fresh air of the open deck. Only, it did not seem so fresh right now. It was sticky and humid, with a sense of anticipation. She looked up at the sky, and noted the ominous gray clouds that were blocking off the stars.

It was no better out here than it had been in her cabin. She remembered sensing a storm approaching that afternoon. It seemed that it had finally caught up with them. Now it was just waiting for the right moment to break.

She walked over to the rail and leaned on it, fixing her gaze to the unnaturally calm gray waters. Her dream replayed in her mind, and to her own horror, she felt the urge to cry.

"You're up awfully late." She didn't turn to see who it was. She recognized the voice as belonging to Roronoa Zoro.

"So are you," she countered half-heartedly.

He immediately knew something was wrong. Nami seemed like she was lost in another world. It just wasn't…normal. "I heard you come out here," he replied indifferently. She nodded; he had a reputation of sleeping out on deck in even the worst weather. He claimed it beat putting up with Usopp's snoring. "What's wrong?"

She stiffened for a moment before she plastered on an overly-bright and obviously fake smile. "Nothing at all. I just had a little bad dream, that's all."

Zoro resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Nami could see the best of lies coming from a mile away, but she couldn't fool anybody with her own.

There was a sudden, loud clap of thunder, followed by an instant downpour of rain. Nami stiffened, her knuckles going white from the grip she had on the rail. Another peal of thunder came, and she brought her arms up around herself in a defensive gesture.

Zoro started to worry. Nami wasn't scared of storms. Why in the world was she suddenly so afraid. "Nami, what's wrong?" he asked again, only to receive no response. Her eyes had clouded, as if she was looking off into another world.

With the next round of thunder, she lost it. Sinking down to the deck, she covered her head with her hands, her eyes closed tightly. Tears leaked out from under her lids as she whimpered like a frightened child. Zoro, not knowing what else to do, knelt down beside her, reached out and put his hand on her arm, giving her a little shake. "Snap out of it, Nami," he said irritably.

To his astonishment, she flinched away from his touch. "No, Yukio! Please, stop!"

Taking firm hold of her shoulders, he shook her again, just enough to get her attention. "Nami! Calm down!"

She whimpered in fear and tried to curl into a ball. "Damn it, Nami! Look at me!"

Hesitantly, she opened her dark eyes and raised them to his. Lightning flashed through the sky, and the wind picked up, churning the sea and rocking the ship. "Z…Zoro?" she asked timidly, recognition dawning.

"It's about time," he growled angrily, though he was nothing of the sort. Her little episode had scared him out of his wits. "Come on." He lifted her to her feet and steadied her as he led her back to her cabin.

Once the storm was safely shut outside, she seemed to relax a little. She sat on her bed and stared blankly at the floor, trying to stop herself from trembling like a leaf.

"If you're back to normal now, I'm going back outside," Zoro stated.

"No!" Her speedy objection startled him. He turned to face her and lifted a questioning brow. She flushed, embarrassed. "That storm is going to get really bad," she explained.

"I've been through storms before. One more won't kill me," he retorted gruffly. He opened the door and proceeded to step out, when she said something else.

"The lightning…" Her voice was small and constrained. She was hiding fear.

With an annoyed sigh, he closed the door and looked at her again. "Fine. But you better get some sleep; judging by the way you acted earlier, you need it."

She nodded, relief clear on her features. She lay back down, despite being drenched, and pulled her blanket over her shoulders. Zoro took a seat on the floor by the opposite wall, eager to resume his rest. Before he drifted off to sleep, he thought he heard Nami murmur, "Thank you, Zoro."

How is it? I feel bad about what I did to poor Nami!!!!