Dear Diary

Zoro x Nami

Chapter Two

Well, hey! I'm going through a mild ZoNa phase right now, so I've decided to post a new chapter of "Dear Diary" for you all. =) Enjoy, and don't forget to review!

"Oi, Nami-swan!" Sanji called, hearts forming in his eyes as he pulled a chair up for her. It's so typical of him, overreacting like this to every little thing. "Where have you been?"

Six minutes had passed, and Nami finally decided to descend from wherever she was to attend breakfast with us all as she nodded slightly at Sanji and sat down. My mind raced through the information I'd received from her diary as I looked up from my food. Maybe it was my imagination and I was anticipating her to look annoyed or even sad, but she appeared haggard and tired.

"I was just in the bathroom, Sanji. Don't worry about it," she replied to Sanji's previous question.

The bathroom. Of course I hadn't looked in the bathroom. Why would I intentionally disturb her privacy?

"Eat, my beauty! Eat. I have prepared delicious waffles especially for you, my love!" Sanji declared, firmly placing a large plate of waffles on the table for her to eat. Luffy nodded enthusiastically, as if concurring to Sanji's statement about the delectableness of the waffles. Nami simply picked up her utensil and picked at her waffle nonchalantly. She didn't end up eating much of her breakfast.

The conversation at the breakfast table was lively, the prime participants being Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp. Nami occasionally pitched in to the conversation; I supposed everyone else hadn't sensed anything different. I, however, had read her diary. I knew that something strange was definitely going on. Was she trying to hide her real feelings by acting somewhat normal? For a reason I wasn't sure of, and certainly wasn't comfortable with, I felt compelled to figure out exactly what was wrong with her.

Why did I care about her so much, all of a sudden? I mean, she's always been my friend, but I've never felt emotional concern for her that was parallel to this. My brain raced through reasons that possibly could hold the answer for my worry, but I couldn't seem to find any logical ones. The reason that I was so concerned, I supposed, was shock. Nami, having a personal diary. It would be like Luffy not eating for a day – unfathomable.

When breakfast ended, I decided to go about my day normally. I lifted my weights and took an afternoon nap as the ship smoothly sailed along. My mind, when I focused it on something else, didn't divert to Nami as frequently as it had during breakfast. Once I was occupied, I was relaxed, and I realized that Nami was alright.

Nami had a diary, after all. She didn't need us to talk to about her problems. She even said so herself: she couldn't trust any of us with her private information. I was quite confident that the diary would bring her comfort, since it was, after all, the only thing she felt she could turn to. For that reason, I kicked the thoughts of her possible emotional problems out of my mind. Besides, based on what I knew of her past, Nami was always a strong-willed, brave, emotionally tough woman. The kind of person who could get through anything without anyone else's help. And even if she wasn't the headstrong person she was, and even if she didn't have a tangible friend to write to, it's not like she'd ever go to me, of all the people on the Going Merry, if she had something to say. Robin, probably. Maybe even Sanji. But I was certain that I'd be the last person she'd ever consider spilling her heart out to. All for the better, though – I would rather skip my naps for a week than engage myself in a heart-to-heart talk with that wench Nami. It wasn't something I'd needed to worry about, anyway. When Nami had made up her mind, she'd make it up and that would be final; she'd stated clearly that she would never tell any of us of her emotional problems, as strange as it was to me that she had them in the first place. There was no swaying her the other way.

I mentally kicked myself for even trying to get involved in the first place as I reclined with my hands behind my head on the deck of the ship, my favorite resting place. Bitter old Nami didn't need my help or intervention. Why had I even decided to try butting in?

Solemnly, I closed my eyes and blocked out all thoughts of that red-haired girl. My slow drift from consciousness to lack thereof was beginning to commence, and the calm aura around me helped put me in a sleepy trance. I was, in fact, almost asleep when the calm aura turned unsettlingly depressing. Almost as if a button was pressed that changed the mood of the deck from serene to sad, I instantly knew that someone had entered the deck. And, when I opened my eyes, I wasn't at all surprised to see Nami.

Quickly, I shut my eyes again and listened to her wistful-sounding footsteps tapping across the deck. When they finally stopped, I figured it would be safe to open my eyes and see what she was doing. I did, only to be greeted by her back; she had her arms folded across the front of the boat, staring out into the world.

So she wasn't exaggerating in her diary. Nami really was going through something. It was painfully evident based on the intensely deep aura of sadness that radiated from her. Even I could sense that. If only I could see her facial expression from where I lay on the ship, in order to confirm it. In the end, I found it unnecessary. Anyone on the deck who saw her dejected figure would be able to conclude that Nami was very upset about something.

My eyes were lazily focused on her back when I noticed a sharp tensing of her upper body, followed promptly by a backwards extension of her right arm. All in a quick, sharp, swift sequence, her arm jerked behind her and released something strongly into the depths of the ocean. Widening, my eyes weren't believing what they were seeing as she proceeded to give the front of the ship a staccato kick. My senses also were in disbelief; the anger she was releasing was unlike any I'd seen. It was almost frightening.

In a split second, I saw her body begin to turn around, heading back towards the inside of the ship. Thankfully, my reflexes were quick enough so that I shut my eyes before she could tell that I was watching her. Angrily and fiercely, I heard her feet marching towards the inside of the ship, where she'd probably go in and maintain a normal façade as she seemed to during breakfast. When I couldn't hear her feet anymore, I got up and walked over to where she was standing before, at the front of the ship.

Whatever she'd thrown in the ship was long gone by now. I stared into the water and pondered what I'd seen. Because, for a split second, I was able to see her facial expression when she turned around. It was a strange mixture of anger and hatred and sadness, all combining together into her eyes. It was amazing to me, really, how much she'd unknowingly revealed to me in that time span of less than a second.

Whatever it was, though, my earlier decision to not butt into her life was aborted. I knew now that Nami needed us. One stupid little book wouldn't help her at all, but a real, living person might have been able to. I disregarded the fact that I had no idea why I was concerned enough to help and remembered her face. Nami, even though I wasn't fond of her very much, was my friend. She needed somebody, and if I was the only person who knew that she needed somebody, so be it.

Yay! I love finishing chapters. Review, please!