Finally! I actually meant to upload this the day after I submitted the first chapter, but we had a snow week. Hey, it's Texas and the roads iced over. Also, I'm very sorry about the notifications some of you got. I forgot you had to upload a document before you could submit it as a chapter. *facepalm* Aren't I smartical.

Also, this is dedicated to mittarimato, since they were the only person to actually review. I dearly enjoy seeing that you've added this story to your favorites, but could you tell me why, please? Criticism is also welcomed with open arms, and flames will be used to keep myself warm. ^_^

Oh yeah, I've been forgetting, but if you really think I own One Piece you're a bloomin' moron. I'm sorry, but it's true. My writing is nothing like his.

Nami would never understand.

She was smart, yes, and she probably understood more than the others ever could. But there was just something about the bond between Luffy and Zoro that would always be beyond her.

Maybe it was because he was the very first crewman. Maybe it was because they'd had time to get to know each other before anyone else even showed up. Maybe it was because they hadn't had anybody else to talk to other than each other in those early days, or maybe it was because being in a small boat in close proximity to another person naturally led to an intimate familiarity with that person's unique traits.

Whatever the case, there was something between the two that would never be matched by the other crewmembers.

It wasn't that Luffy didn't love everyone equally, without reserve, as was his wont. No, he valued his nakama more than anything. If he hadn't proved that by now, after risking everything time and again for friend after friend, well… if there ever was a person who doubted his loyalty to his nakama, then they'd never heard anything about the strawhat at all.

And yet… the swordsman and the captain were so in tune, so flawlessly in sync, that even being chained together did little to hinder them.

There was a reason they had such faith in each other. In those first days, they each had only one other person to rely on. Working together wasn't just convenient; their very lives had depended on it. They knew each other almost better than they knew themselves, and because of that, there was never any doubt. No questions were asked, no doubts were entertained. It was never a question of if the other could survive, if the other could defeat their opponent. It was a question of when.

They knew each other's capabilities, and they had faith that they weren't going to die before they reached their goals.

And that was something that Nami would never understand.