Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.

Chapter 2: The Devil Raises Its Ugly Head

"You damn stupid idiot!"

"Oww! Nami, what was that for?"

"For your incredible stupidity, dumbhead!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I can't predict where I'll land if I do that …"

"Then you shouldn't have done it in the first place!"

"But Nami! We were pursued!"

"Shut the hell up!" She knew she was being unfair, but the fact that she had a slight brain concussion now was all thanks to that rubber-headed idiot she called her captain. Feelings for him aside, she was angry now. And that was never good – for her environment.

"I thought I'd just crash into the door, I didn't know you were in there …" Luffy tried to defend himself as he ducked away from her fist aiming at him. But defending against Nami was just useless when she was in that mood.

"You should've knocked her unconscious," Zoro grumbled from aside. "Then she'd at least be silent now."

"WHAT WAS THAT?" the furious navigator yelled and her whole rage now unloaded on the poor swordsman, who did his best to evade the girl's manifestations of wrath – namely, her punches. He did not succeed in doing so, though. The mysterious secret of why Nami, as one of the crew's weakest members, can have such an effect on even Luffy and Zoro, will probably never be solved.

Luffy reached out one hand, and for a split second, it seemed like he wanted to help his hapless nakama. But then he thought better of it – and cut it out.

However, when Nami was finished with the lump-littered heap on the floor that had once been Zoro, she turned to Luffy again, and her expression was not any less dangerous compared to how it had been before. Luffy flinched, feeling her devilish glare on him, though he could not see her eyes as they were shadowed by her hair. He knew that expression only too well, and it meant no good for him. He broke out in cold sweat.

"You," she said, and he flinched again as he heard all the hate that she put in that one word. She made one step towards him, seizing him by the collar. He had no chance. "You disgusting mockery of a captain!"

Everybody around them went silent within one second. Sure, Nami was daring, cheeky and hot-tempered, and it was definitely not the first time that she had insulted Luffy. On the contrary: she did it quite often, calling him dumbass or idiot or simply stupid. But this, they all sensed, was something completely different.

Luffy stopped struggling and gaped at her as she was looming over him no less threatening. Threatening in a way he could not quite put his finger on. What was she saying?

"Could you please be useful for once?"

She had said things like this on some occasions in the past already. It was nothing new. He didn't hear it for the first time.

But normally, it was accompanied by a resigning sigh, or at least a rolling of her eyes. She would throw her hands up heavenwards as if someone there could help her, and then let it go. She would turn away and forget the matter, whatever it was.

But this …

"Or could you at least try not to be that damn hindrance that you are?" She almost cried it, straight in his face, with extra emphasis on the last few words.

Luffy couldn't believe it. Was that really … was she really saying that now? Staring at her, he couldn't move. His body had gone rigid in her grasp, and all he could do was gape at his navigator gone mad.

"Aren't you supposed to be our captain, huh? Aren't you supposed to not lead us in the middle of a Marine base? All you ever do is putting us at risk! You are a risk, and a shame for all existing pirate captains on the oceans!"

A risk … a shame for all existing pirate captains …

Now that she raised her head slowly, he could see her eyes, her beautiful eyes. They were covered in hate, pure, simple hate. He had the feeling of suffocating any moment. But at the same time, with a numbing feeling all over his body, he just couldn't believe it. This was not the Nami he knew anymore. Even her eyes seemed darker than usual as she bore her harsh glare deep into his own eyes.

"Nami-swan …" a small voice piped up from behind them. "Aren't you being unfair here?"

She just ignored Sanji, scowling at Luffy with all the hate she could muster, which made him gasp. He really felt like suffocating …

Then, suddenly, she let him go, and there was a sudden radical change in her attitude. Her eyes widening suddenly, she slowly took up one hand and put it on her mouth, gaping at him as if she herself couldn't believe what she had just done. Her shoulders slumped and … were those tears in the corners of her eyes?!

"Oh my God," she breathed almost inaudibly, taking one step back, away from him. "Luffy, I …" Her gaze wandered over their crewmates standing around them as if taking in her environment just now. As if she was awaking from a dream.

"Nami, what are you saying?" an encouraged and infuriated Chopper enquired with a large frown on his face, taking a step forward. "That's not true, and you …" He didn't get to finish his wannabe angry tirade, though. Nami collapsed on the floor, and he went to 'doctor mode' instantly. "Nami!"

Her fingers wanted to scratch the wood. They wanted to tear something down, to destroy something. And she, she only wanted to jump over the railing and drown. There was nothing better she could do.

What had she thought, saying something like this? Just what the hell had she thought? That wasn't even her real opinion! Of course, there was a bit of truth in that, but never, never had she thought like this, so why …?

She didn't notice the little reindeer next to her, who worriedly examined her. She didn't even notice the tears that came flowing out of her eyes as she slowly lifted them up towards Luffy, who was still frozen in place. His face held no expression, and his large black eyes didn't give him away either. He just stared at her blankly.

"I'm sorry!" she blurted out. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean any of that, I don't know where that came from! That's not what I think! I didn't mean that! Please …"

He lowered his head, and because of the midday sun shining from above, she couldn't see his eyes anymore as they were now shadowed by his hat.

"Nami, what the heck is wrong with you?" Usopp asked and cocked his head. Even he wore a frown, and so did all her crewmates. And with a bit of imagination, even Brook was frowning at her (… he has no forehead, you know …).

She couldn't tear her eyes away from Luffy's face, but she heard them. Slowly, she shook her head. "I don't know," she whispered. "Please Luffy, believe me. That's not what I think, you're the best captain in the world …"

She was surprised herself. But as she thought about it, she found that it was really true. Even if he had his little defects, like stupidness, carelessness, stubbornness and absolutely no sense for danger, he really was the best captain she could think of. And the oddest part about this was that she had known that already for a very long time. He had won her heart when he had saved her and her village, and he would always have it.

So, why the hell was she talking such crap?

Luffy still remained silent. She would have loved to hug him now, but she was too shocked. He wouldn't want it anyway, and she could fully understand it.

"Please believe me, Luffy!" she begged, a bit louder this time, and tried to find his eyes in the shadows the sun cast over them.

It seemed an eternity to her until he looked at her, but there were no emotions in his eyes when he did. Then he shrugged as if he was completely careless towards all that had just happened, and just said, "Okay." He turned and walked away casually.

Nevertheless, she couldn't be relieved. She knew it wasn't just "okay", and the carelessness was faked, of this she was pretty sure. This kind of thing … it would need a lot of time to heal, and perhaps he wouldn't ever forget it. She had hurt him.

She swallowed hard as the tears welled up in her eyes anew. "Luffy …" she mumbled and stood up to follow him, but a hand held her back.

"Leave him alone. You hurt him. He needs time to get over that."

She looked at Zoro's harsh expression, then averted her eyes. She knew he was right. She should give him time … but that was hard when all she wanted was to talk to him, to make it right again. It was her fault, and she needed to correct it.

If there's anything to be corrected … If there's not enough damage already done …

"Are … are we away from that island?" she asked quietly to break the uncomfortable silence, and Franky nodded. They had used Coup de Burst and were already too far away for the Marines to catch up to them, if they intended to follow them with their ships.

"I'll go and make some maps …" she announced and wanted to go in the direction of the aquarium room, but Chopper stopped her.

"Nami, you've got a brain concussion! You can't just walk out of the infirmary and do as if nothing ever happened! There's something wrong with you …"

"What makes you say that?" she suddenly seethed, turning around in a whirl.

Chopper flinched, but stayed where he was. "You're not as you always are …" he said bravely, his gaze steady as he looked her straight in the eyes, and Nami saw the other crew members nod in agreement.

Seeing her angry expression, Robin stepped forward and laid an arm around her shoulder soothingly. "Come, Nami-san. You have to recover. Who will lead us through the sea if you are incapable of doing so?"

As always, she knew exactly what spots to touch. Nami followed her into the infirmary room willingly, sighing about not knowing what she was saying, about uttering strange things that were not her real opinion, even when it came to Usopp. Now that she thought about it – that had almost been the same situation.

"Robin, am I always that way?" she asked, suddenly scared. What if she was and just didn't notice it?

Robin, however, managed to ease her worries. "Definitely not," she said, and her voice sounded very determined and sure. "You certainly are a bigmouth – I'm sorry to say that so bluntly."

Nami almost flinched – but what had she expected? She knew she wasn't an easy person, and she had asked Robin to say that out loud, so she had to take the consequences.

But Robin hadn't finished yet. "But normally you don't keep on insulting your friends out of the blue. There have already been many situations that have been worse, and still you did not tell Captain-kun that he is a shame for all existing pirate captains," she stated calmly.

Nami winced at the words she had told Luffy just moments ago, and a pang of guilt stabbed her heart. Had she really been that cruel …?

They were in the girls' room by that moment, and Robin motioned for her to sit down on her bed, while she herself did the same on her own one. Nami knew the older woman could just leave her alone now – she was sure she didn't deserve a better treatment. Nevertheless, Robin propped her chin up on her hand and just looked at her questioningly, as if she was waiting for her to go on now.

"Ugh …" Nami uttered and ran her fingers through her short hair, staring at the ground. "Yeah, you're probably right …" was the only thing that occurred to her.

Robin chuckled in her own Robin-like manner. "Of course I am. I think I know you quite well by now, and you're not like this. So, did something happen today? Did you think something special, related to Captain-kun? Or were you experiencing exceptional fears today?"

Nami blushed furiously. She had always suspected Robin to know about her … erm, crush on Luffy, and felt very embarrassed at this moment – despite the fact that this was supposed to be a talk between two grown-up women.

"You don't need to be embarrassed," Robin assured her as if she had read her thoughts. "Please just think of something that has been different today in comparison to the past few days. Perhaps there was something that could lead us to the solution …?"

With 'solution' she means why I hurt Luffy without any reason … Nami thought and sighed. "I really don't know. It's not like this situation hadn't happened before …"

Robin nodded thoughtfully. "You mean the situation of Captain-kun being in danger."

Nami shrugged and blushed again. "It wasn't because of this. I really don't know, Robin …"

"Then let us approach this analytically," Robin said. "You are like that since Captain-kun came back …"

"No," Nami interrupted her. "I think … I think, when I insulted Usopp … and later, Chopper, that also counted." She didn't admit this happily. In fact, she was rather embarrassed by the whole situation. Why was Robin so sure it wasn't just her evil personality? Why were they all so sure she had changed and not just given in to her darker side? This side could be inside of anyone. Take Robin, for example …

"Good," Robin took her out of her thoughts. "Then this also counts. But I am convinced you were your usual self when we were in the bookstore. At least, neither of us noticed something unusual about your attitude."

Nami nodded at the older woman's words.

"So, I ask you again. Did something exceptional happen in the time between your departure from the bookstore and your insult towards Usopp-kun?" Robin asked and leaned forward to look her in the eyes questioningly.

"Erm … No, I don't think …" Nami trailed off mid-sentence when she remembered what had really happened today. A cold shiver raced down her spine violently, and she gaped at the floor.

Robin, who noticed the change in Nami's behaviour, cocked her head.

"There was that incident with that old bitch …" Nami muttered and brought one hand up to her mouth thoughtfully. Noticing Robin's puzzled look, she explained it further, "It was when Chopper and I were on the market. Usopp came and told us about the Marines …"

"What did you feel?" Robin interrupted her.

Nami shrugged. She didn't know what Robin intended with that question, but answered it nevertheless. "I felt panic," she admitted. "Worry about Luffy, Sanji and Zoro. And I wanted to run to the ship as fast as possible."

Robin nodded and motioned for her to go on.

"Then I sent Chopper to get you, and then there was this old hag tugging me at my sleeve. She wanted to sell me something, but I told her to go away. I really didn't have time for this. Then she came and attacked me …"

"She attacked you?"

"She jumped up and forced me to drink the thing she'd wanted me to buy. And she said something like I shouldn't rely on my looks while treating people like shit, something like that. Then she was off and we ran to the ship," Nami finished. She couldn't help the bad feeling in her stomach pit, or the stale taste in her mouth. Her heart beat faster in increasing panic, and her eyes widened in realisation. "What … what was that?" she asked quietly.

Robin made a thoughtful face. "That could be our motive," she mused. "Were you harsh towards her when she first approached you?"

Nami gulped. "May-Maybe," she admitted hesitantly. "I was worried, and we didn't have much time, and I was stressed out a great deal. Perhaps I might have been a bit … not-so-polite towards her."

Robin nodded again. "Another motive."

"But just because I called her old hag – which she was – doesn't justify her attacking me! What if it was poison?" Nami flared up. "That's not a reason, you know! You can't go around poisoning people as you please …"

"I don't think it was poison," Robin said calmly and placed her hand on Nami's forearm. "Calm down. We will find that woman and ask her what she did to you."

Nami took a deep breath, then shook her head in despair. "Really, I …" she started but cut herself off when she remembered something. She reached into her pocket and took the empty flask out of it, handing it to the archaeologist. "I took it with me, perhaps it could help …"

Robin smiled. "Chopper-kun will examine it and find out what it was. But stay calm until then. If it was poison, I think you would have noticed something earlier."

"What do you think it is if it isn't poison?" Nami asked and gave Robin a worried glance, who narrowed her blue eyes.

"It could be a curse, who knows?" she replied and stood up, ignoring the younger woman's wincing. "Try to sleep a bit, Nami-san. I am sure you have quite the little headache."

Nami nodded and, for the first time since the incident with Luffy, noticed the pain in her head. "Yeah, I think I'll do that," she mumbled. Really, now that she thought of it, this headache was killing her. She didn't know that slight brain concussions caused so much pain.

Robin gave her another smile. "I will go and give this to our little doctor. I will tell the others to leave you alone, if that is okay for you."

Nami lowered her head as she felt a strange feeling rushing over her. That feeling … rage?

"Yeah, sure. As if you had friends on this ship," she said in a low voice.

Robin stopped, her hand on the doorknob. "Excuse me?" she asked, her eyebrows raised and a bewildered look on her face.

Nami chuckled nastily. "You heard me, Robin," she said and looked up at the older woman. "Do you really think that we are your friends?"

Robin frowned, examining the navigator with her eyes. "What do you mean?" she asked calmly.

"I fuckin' mean that you're just an unwanted passenger here! Who would want to be friends with you? You killed people, you're nothing more than a manipulative bitch! Filth on the street we're walking on! How could you …"

Nami was cut off by two hands at her throat. "Ugh …"

Robin's fists were clenched as she stared at the younger woman with wide eyes.

"Yeah, go on … and … kill me, Robin," Nami choked out, the evil grin never leaving her face despite the clearly pained and angered look in the archaeologist's eyes – and the two hands that gagged her. "Kill … me … like you … always do!"

Robin gritted her teeth and just stared for several moments. Then, with a start, she broke away, both physically and mentally. Nami coughed as Robin let the two hands disappear in a whirl of flower petals, and the black-haired woman hurried to get out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her back.

Outside, she leaned against it and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. How could this have happened? With a few well-placed words, the navigator had managed to make her lose her composure. That didn't happen very frequently. And even if she had known that there was something wrong with her nakama, she had been caught by surprise. That shouldn't have happened, Robin thought as she slowly unclenched her fists by her sides.

"Robin?" someone said hesitantly, and her head jerked up. The whole crew had gathered in front of the door, but with another glance, she noticed that Luffy wasn't here.

Six pairs of eyes were directed at her in anticipation, and she took another deep breath before slowly saying, "There is something seriously wrong here. We need to find the old witch before something really bad happens."

Author's note: Whoa! Robin lost her composure! Now that's something I really don't want to witness. And that's just the beginning …

Aww, I feel so sorry for poor Luffy. But I fear that's just the beginning, too … (Don't be surprised, this is a Hurt/Comfort after all.)