Taking in a Stray Cat

by fmdevil

AU: Despite the rumors about Kuraigana Island being home to a Green Demon who carries three swords; the cat burglar Nami couldn't pass up the huge score of treasure said to be left on the island.But when she is caught by the Demon, the Demon's friends and family find out and try to make him keep her.But how does Nami feel about all that?

2. Chapter 2

Alright! First thing is first: I'd like to give a very special shout-out to BelleLoveZoro for being so sweet to make me a cover pick for this story (she was also sweet enough to make the cover pic for "Dance The Night Away" if you haven't recognized her work). If you want to check out the picture in its complete form, check her out on DevaintArt ;}

And nope… I still don't own One Piece

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Taking in a Stray Cat: Chapter 2

As Nami started to stir from her slumber, her body immediately started to complain and she instinctively wrapped herself in the sheets like a caterpillar in a cocoon, not wanting to leave the comfort of the bed. She was slightly confused about what had transpired to put her in that warm comfortable bed and was desperately trying to let her mind begin the process of piecing together what she had done the night before: she remembered successfully docking her small boat at Kuraigana Island before being led on a tour of the castle by a green-haired demon… no that wasn't quite right; he ended up not being a demon at all and just a man, a directionally challenged man, but a man none the less. She remembered how he would get flustered or even embarrassed at the mention of sex, which she had brought up in a last ditch effort to save her life, she would never admit it to the man, but he was cute when he blushed. Nami sat there and continued to recount the previous night's events, as well as the man's kindness to her despite expecting nothing in return; simply feeding her because she was hungry, giving her some dry clothes and a place to sleep simply because she was tired, she would be dishonest if she denied that it warmed her heart.

The mikan-head finally started to open her eyes warily, trying to let her eyes adjust as rays of sunlight pierced through the clouds into the west window of the room… 'SHIT' Nami cursed in her mind as she sprung from the bed, throwing the covers completely off of her as she realized that the sun was already on the west side of the castle, making her very aware that she had overslept well into the afternoon 'You're a damn baka Nami' she continued to scold herself as she desperately searched the room for her clothes, only to remember that the swordsman had took them to go and wash them for her. 'You were supposed to only sleep for a couple of hours and then get the hell out of here. Now what the hell are you going to do if you run into that guy?'

She slowly cracked the door open, peering out into the hallway, practically praying to see no sight of the swordsman, and was quite relieved to see the hallway vacant and empty. She slowly stepped out of the room and into the hallway to make her way to the grand staircase that would lead her to the ground floor so she could search for her clothes. But before making it to the stairs she passed across a door right at the end of the hallway and noticed a sign on it that she hadn't noticed the night before; it read 'This One is Your Room You Shitty Marimo' in big bold red letters, almost impossible to miss, Nami chalked up her missing it to her extreme fatigue the previous night. 'Marimo…' she contemplated the word to herself as she pictured a moss-ball 'his hair really does make him look kind of like one.' A small smile crossed her face at the thought 'I might have to tease him with that one later…' she shook her head violently at that last thought, as if she was trying to toss the actual thought out her head. 'What am I thinking about? I can't use it to tease him later, because I'm not staying, I need to find my clothes and get out of here.'

She became very silent and held her breath as she crept by the room, hoping that if he was inside that he wouldn't hear her, she was halfway passed the door when she heard a sound coming from the other side, causing her to completely pause in the process… "Snore…" She let out the breath she was holding once she realized what the sound was, because as loud as the man inside of the room was snoring, he was obvious still in deep sleep. Feeling confident, she decided that she could continue her search with less restraint. She quickly made her way down the stairs, not worrying about the sound she was making because she was still barefoot with her sandals in her hand which eliminated any echoing from the souls of the sandals. Once at the bottom of the stairs, she paused for a moment to figure out what area the laundry room would be in, coming to the conclusion that it must have been near the kitchen because that was the only area the swordsman didn't thoroughly explore the previous evening in his search for the kitchen. But before she started to make her way towards her destination, she was stopped by the sound of voices coming from outside of the main doors.

"Allow me to get the door for you my love…" Nami heard in a high pitched, sing-songy, male voice.

"How are you going to get the door for me?" The second voice was also high pitched, but not sing-songy, and obviously female. "Your hands are full because you're carrying all my bags."

"I will open it with my face if I have to, just so my precious Perona-frawn* doesn't have to sully her beautiful hands."

"Horo-horo-horo… Just let me get the door baka."

The voices were now just on the outside of the doors, and Nami noticed that one of the doors started to push open. She began to get nervous and quickly looked around for an escape. She quickly turned around to head back up the stairs, but in her panic she didn't raise her foot high enough and stubbed her big-bare-toe on the first step. She immediately dropped her sandals to the floor and almost screamed out in pain as tears welled in her eyes. She quickly lifted her foot into her hands and jumped around on one leg to try and distract herself from the sharp pain shooting all the way through her foot and leg…

"Who the hell are you?" A confused female voice called out from the now open doorway, causing Nami to completely freeze in her actions.

Nami turned her head to meet two sets of curious eyes in the entryway: one belonging to a pink-haired woman in gothic style clothing, and the other a well-dressed blond man with his hair covering his right-eye and a strange swirled eye-brow over his other.

"It is a beautiful lady." The man said as he struggled to keep several luggage bags securely in place under his arms. "Who is this beautiful angel standing in front of us Perona-frawn?" His eye turned into a heart and his legs started to turn into noodles as she started to dance slightly just inside of the threshold. Nami would have been kind of impressed about his ability to do so with so many bags under his arms if not for the fact that it was starting to freak her out.

"I already asked that question baka!" The pink-haired woman screamed at the man, obviously irritated that he had ignored her original question because he was distracted by the other woman in front of him. "So who the hell are you, and why the hell are you wearing one of my shirts?" The Goth angrily spat at Nami while pointing an accusing finger at her.

Nami finally let her foot back to the ground now that all the confusion had made her forget about the pain in her stubbed toe. She desperately looked for words to explain who she was and why she was in the castle that the two in front of her obviously called home… but no words would come. She could tell that the woman in front of her was becoming enraged by her silence, but she still fought to find the proper words. But finally the pinkette could take the silence no more.

"Oh screw this" The other woman finally said "NEGATIVE HOLLOW!"

Nami could only stare, frozen in shock, as a semi-transparent ghost with a big goofy smile and its tongue hanging out flew out from the Goth's body towards her while laughing in an annoying high pitch. It flew through the mikan-head's body, and Nami instantly felt all energy, all will to stand, even all will to live leave her body in a moment. "I am just a weed choking the life out of a mikan-tree and should be pulled." She said in a downcast voice as her entire body slumped to the ground.

"Perona-fawn, please calm down." The blond man said to the pinkette. "There may be a reasonable explanation of why this lovely lady is in our home."

"Shut up Sanji. You defending her is not cute at all. There is only one way to get to the bottom of this…" The woman who Nami now knew to go by the name of Perona took a deep breath before screaming out "Roronoa Zoro! You get your lazy un-cute ass down here this minute!"

As Nami looked up at Perona from the ground, still recovering from whatever that ghost-thing had done to her, her eyes widened in honest surprise, but her surprise wasn't from Perona's strange power to conjure ghosts, but from the Goth's words instead. 'Did she just say Roronoa Zoro?' Nami knew the name; she had heard it several times while traveling around East Blue looking for treasure to find or steal. 'That's impossible; it can't be the same guy. What the hell would he be doing here of all places?'

An awkward silence fell over the group on the main floor as some noises that sounded like someone groaning and slight sounds of movements could be heard from the living quarters. They heard a door crack open, but before a human figure could even be seen; Perona started to scream out directions instinctively.

"Turn left towards the stairs!" The three at the bottom of the stairs could hear some muffled grumbles from the intended recipient, but then only heard footsteps getting further away. "YOUR OTHER LEFT!"

Nami finally started to regain some of the strength she lost from the ghost passing through her and she noticed the pinkette bringing her hand to the bridge of her nose to massage the area, obviously unsatisfied at the swordsman's horrible sense of direction. Nami hoped to use the disruption to sneak off, but was spotted by Perona before she could do so.

"And where the hell do you think you are going?" Perona questioned the mikan-head, quickly stalking over to her and seizing Nami by the ear before she could run off.

"OWWW!" Nami screamed in obvious discomfort.

"Perona my love; I don't want to upset you, but you might be overreacting a little bit. Maybe we should give her a chance to explain herself." Sanji spoke, obviously feeling concerned for the mikan-head's physical wellbeing, but only got a stern look from Perona instead, causing him to become instantly silent as he went to put the bags under his arms down nearby.

"I gave her the chance to explain, and she didn't take it. We'll see what Zoro has to say."

The after mentioned swordsman could finally be seen at the top of the stairs; stretching out his joints and letting out a big yawn before starting to walk down them. "What are you being so loud about so early in the morning Perona?"

"It's already passed noon you lazy, worthless, brother?" Perona quickly spat at him. "Now who in the hell is this?" She asked pointing her free hand at the woman she currently had a hold of by the mikan-head's ear.

Zoro looked at Nami, and then Perona, then to Sanji, and then back to Nami: he noticed a scared look in Nami's eyes, obviously hoping that he could defuse the situation, but Zoro only had a confused look on his face instead. "Ummm… That's a thief." He responded flatly while scratching the back of his head, causing Nami, Perona, and Sanji to all deadpan.

But being fueled by rage; Perona was the first to recover. "Why the hell is there a thief in our home, and why is she wearing my clothes?" Perona tightened her grip on Nami's ear, causing her to nearly drop to her knees from the simple yet sharp pain.

"She is only wearing one of your shirts; she's got my shorts on. Now will you let her go? You're going to rip her ear off at this rate."

"You're not answering the question you baka!" Despite Perona's anger not seeming to disappear, but only increase, she did let go of Nami's ear, but only to point her now free hand at Zoro before… "Negative Hollow!"

Another ghost quickly left Perona's body and ran straight through the swordsman's. He quickly slumped to the ground before saying "I wish I was an insect so someone could step on me."

"BAHAHAHA!" Sanji roared out from his leaning position on the wall. "I'll step on you if you want shitty-swordsman."

"Shut your mouth ero-cook!" Zoro screamed at the blonde man after quickly recovering from Perona's attack. "And dammit Perona: I've told you to not do after I just wake up!"

"Horo-horo-horo..! It serves you right. Now will someone answer my question on who the hell this girl is and why is she here, in my shirt?"

"My… my name is Nami." The mikan-head finally spoke sheepishly drawing everyone's attention to her. "And this is really just a big misunderstanding. Zoro…" She spoke his name, unsure if she should even use it. "…was just being kind to me last night."

All eyes turned to Zoro, expecting him to continue the explanation. He let out a defeated sigh before doing so. "I was weight training last night and had to go to the bathroom, when I got back to the ballroom I caught her snooping around. It was pouring last night and she was soaking wet, so I let her borrow some dry clothes to sleep in."

"But why in the hell would you let a thief sleep here in the first place?" Perona asked, still irritated and confused by everything. "Why didn't you toss her out?"

"Well I almost did toss her out over the balcony but…"

"You were going to do what, you damn barbarian?" Sanji spat furiously after hearing Zoro's admission. "How dare you even think of doing harm to this lovely lady?"

"Did you forget about the part where she was a thief, you swirly eye-browed bastard? Now shut the hell up and let me finish." Zoro quickly spat back at him. "As I was saying: right before I was going to toss her over the balcony I heard her stomach growl and noticed she looked tired and hungry, so I gave her something to eat and a place to sleep for the night. I thought she'd be gone first thing this morning, and she promised not to steal anything, so I didn't see the harm in it." He finished saying nonchalantly while scratching the back of his head.

Perona was about to yell angrily at her brother because she was still irritated at how irresponsible it was to knowingly let a thief into their home, but was interrupted by Sanji's calm voice. "Perona-fawn, my sweet, you know how much I despise your idiotic brother most of the time, right?" He began saying, getting a "Tch" from Zoro in response. "But for once I have to agree that he did the right thing. A person should never have to go hungry if it can be avoided." Sanji's calm voice and reassurance was enough to start to calm down the pinkette, because the blonde man was right… "Especially not such a beautiful lady!" … and her anger was back as she watched his eye transform into a heart and his legs start to wiggle around like soft noodles again.

"Negative hollow" She spoke coldly as yet another ghost left her body and headed straight for the blonde man, stopping his noodle dance instantly.

"I am a lonely grain of rice just waiting to be eaten by a bird." Sanji said with a dark cloud hanging over his head as he fell to the ground on all fours.

"Serves you right you love sick retard." Zoro mumbled under his breath, but showed no signs of amusement at the blonde-man's humiliation.

Perona brought her hands up to both of her temples to rub them before letting out a large sigh. "Ok, I get it" she began to say, irritation still clear in her voice. "You were just doing a good thing. It's obvious that you just spent a little too much time with those goodie-goods. So when is she leaving?"

"I was just looking for my clothes, and then I was going to leave as soon as I got changed, I promise." Nami answered Perona in Zoro's stead, hoping it would reassure the pinkette. "I really didn't want to be a bother to anyone."

"But you can't leave yet." Sanji whined to the mikan-head as he quickly jumped up from slumped over position. "We've only just met. I can already feel that we have something special and that I was destined to meet you."

"Oi, you're married to me baka!" Perona screamed at the blonde man.

"And my heart still belongs only to you my beautiful Perona-frawn!" Sanji exclaimed excitedly as his eye transformed into a heart yet again.

"And every other woman on this planet…" Zoro mumbled under his breath, and got a knowing nod from the pinkette in agreement.

"But if you must leave us Nami-san; at least allow me to cook you something before you go. I would hate if the last meal you ate before leaving was something the shitty-cyclops made for you, I'm sure it was barely edible at best."

Nami quickly looked to both Zoro and Perona who were watching with annoyed looks on their faces because of Sanji's behavior. She didn't know whether to refuse his offer of another meal or not; she didn't want to be rude, or want to be a burden on her hosts anymore either.

"He's too much of a baka to accept no for an answer." Zoro spoke up after noticing the conflicted look on Nami's face. "You better just accept the damn ero-cook's offer and let him make you something before he starts trying to hump your leg or something, besides; I'm getting hungry myself."

"Are you comparing me to a dog marimo?" Sanji spat at him and quickly stalked over to the swordsman as if to start a fight.

"Only if the dog was a perverted imp swirly..!" Zoro quickly retorted matching the cook's aggression.

The two were just about to go to blows when suddenly… "Will you two knock it off?!" Nami screamed at the top of her lungs before unleashing a fist to the top of both of their heads. "The two of you have been bickering non-stop since you first laid eyes on each other! What is wrong with you guys?!" Nami hadn't even realized her outburst until she noticed both men lying on the ground at her feet. She didn't know why, but if just felt so natural to lash out at the two.

As the two men started to regain their senses, she noticed the swordsman giving her a rather dangerous look, while Sanji was mumbling something about "Nami-san is beautiful when she is angry", while he wiggled around still on the floor. Part of Nami wanted to shrink down and hide when Zoro stood completely up and approached her, to stand over her and glare at her… but she didn't shrink down, instead she placed both of her hands firmly on her hips, straightened her back, and matched his glare with one of her own. It was actually starting to get a little tense until…

"Horo-horo-horo, I'm starting to like this girl." The ghost-princess declared, grabbing both her brother's and the mikan-head's attentions. "So are you staying for lunch or not… Nami wasn't it?"

Nami took a quick glance at Zoro, getting a quick "Hmph" from him before he turned around and went to lean against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, but if she didn't know any better, she could have sworn she noticed a smirk across his face before he had turned. "I don't really want to be any more trouble to any of you." She answered Perona.

"It is no trouble at all Nami-san." Sanji cooed excitedly as he quickly hopped up from where he had been still lying on the floor. "It would be an honor to cook for lovely angels such as yourself and Perona-fawn."

Nami looked around her: first to Perona who just smiled at Sanji's actions, and then to Zoro who gave her a nod to confirm that she should accept the offer, and then back to Sanji to see a hopeful smile on his face. 'Who the hell are these people? How can they be so laid back about all of this?' She thought to herself before letting out an amused yet slightly awkward light-laugh, and then answering "Sure; lunch sounds great Sanji-kun."

"Hai Nami-ssswwwaaannn! I will prepare it right away!" The chef exclaimed excitedly in a high pitch voice before darting off towards the kitchen, causing a muffled "Hmph" from Zoro and another "Horo-horo-horo" from Perona.

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After Nami confirmed that she would stay for lunch; Perona led her to the laundry room so she could get her clothes and change out of the ones she had borrowed. Nami's suspicions about where the location of the laundry room were confirmed, because it was indeed down the same hallway that the dining room and the kitchen were, but despite it still being a little ways away from the kitchen, she could still hear the two men yelling back and forth from the confines of it.

The mikan-head's curiosity was getting the better of her as she continued to change her clothes and she was trying to listen in on the two men's arguments. They seemed completely random: from Sanji complaining about "How many damn bottles are you going to drink you shitty-marimo" and "stay the hell out of that, it is for Perona-fawn and Nami-san!" And Zoro would respond with colorful comments like "If you weren't so damn annoying than I wouldn't need to drink so much" and "I'll eat whatever the hell I want to you freaking sissy ero-cook!" Their arguments would then always be followed by sounds of metal clanging on something and then followed by more curses.

"What is wrong with those two?" Nami questioned aloud to no one in particular while shaking her head back and forth in disbelief.

"Horo-horo-horo" Perona let out, taking a break from folding a pile of nearby clothes. "Don't mind that; that is how those two communicate. It can be troublesome at times, but they also have their moments."

"Like what kind of moments?" Nami asked the pinkette genuinely intrigued.

"Well…" Perona paused as she thought about it. "It's hard to explain, but at times they have these strange moments where they seem to have a complete understanding of one another. It is like a silent respect thing where neither would out right admit it, but they show it without words… but only for a moment and then they are right back at it."

And almost on cue the arguing which had seemed to stop while Perona and Nami were talking, started right back up again. "Get off your lazy ass and go tell the ladies that the food is ready you useless marimo!"

"Go tell them yourself shit-cook, or do you need a moment to put on your makeup?"

"If you don't go get them, then you're not eating, now go!" Nami could already imagine the look on the swordsman's face, and the angry curses he was no doubt now mumbling. "And knock before you enter and don't just go barging in you baka!"

"I get it, now shut the hell up!" The mikan-head could hear Zoro's voice now in the hallway instead of the kitchen. Both Perona and she became very quiet as they waited for him to approach the laundry room, but noticed the echo of his boots starting to go the opposite direction. Nami looked to the pinkette and they both shared a light laugh at the realization that the swordsman was already going the wrong way.

Nami stepped out into the hallway and spoke to grab the man's attention. "Oi, are you looking for something?"

Zoro turned around to meet Nami's gaze as she leaned against the doorway to the laundry room with a smirk on her face. She noticed he had a confused look written across his own face from her being the opposite direction than he was walking towards. "What are you doing over there? Weren't you supposed to be in the laundry room with Perona?"

Nami deadpanned slightly from his question before answering, "This is the laundry room", pointing a thumb over her shoulder. "You're really horrible with directions aren't you?" She asked, but only got a "Tch" from him in response.

"Horo-horo-horo" Perona laughed coming out of the laundry room behind Nami. "This girl already has you figured out. Come along baka" the pinkette said to Zoro as she passed Nami and started to walk towards the dining room "Let's go eat."

The swordsman mumbled something inaudible as he followed step directly behind Perona, with Nami soon to follow. As the mikan-head walked into the dining room she was met with the site of Sanji standing nearby the large dining table and a cart with several covered dishes sitting on it. As she approached the table she watched the cook quickly pull out Perona's chair for her in a gentleman like fashion, while Zoro just sat down on the opposite side of the table from her. Once Sanji had Perona properly seated he directed his attention onto Nami. "Here you are Nami-san." Sanji spoke directing her attention to the seat directly besides Perona.

"Thank you Sanji-kun." Nami responded kindly as she took her seat which was directly across from Zoro. Her eyes met the swordsman's, but only for a moment before he directed his one good eye on a bottle of alcohol on the table. She couldn't remove her eyes off of his actions: she watched as he quickly pulled the cork from the bottle with his teeth and spit it into an empty glass in front of him, receiving a "Show some damn manners and don't spit in front of the ladies you brute!" from Sanji who was busy placing a large salad bowl in the middle of the table as well as a plate of fresh breadsticks. "And use a damn glass."

"I did use a glass" He responded smugly. "Can't you see the cork in there?"

"You know I didn't mean for the cork you rude bastard." Sanji spoke coldly getting only a cocky "Hmph" from the swordsman in response before he quickly took a large drink directly from the mouth of the bottle. "I apologize for you having to witness this brute's behavior Nami-san. Perona-fawn and I are used to it, but it should still never be put on display in front of a lady." Nami didn't respond to the cook, she could only continue to stare at the man in front of her in interest. "Nami-san, are you listening?" Sanji asked her after noticing she was distracted, drawing both Perona's and Zoro's attention onto her.

"Uh…" she tried to speak realizing all eyes were on her, and she quickly rewound the words Sanji had said to her. "It's fine Sanji-kun; I didn't even notice him there." She lied.

Satisfied with her answer Sanji continued to set out the food he had prepared, and Nami's attention had immediately went back to the man across from her, but this time Zoro's attention was firmly locked onto her as well. Part of her wanted to shrink from his piercing gaze, but she didn't, instead she continued to meet it, and watch intently as he brought the bottle back to his mouth and take a drink without removing his eyes from hers. There was genuine curiosity in his gaze, as if he was still trying to figure her out. Finally his curiosity got the best of him and he addressed her "What are you staring at witch?" He asked her flatly after removing the bottle from his mouth. "You want a drink or something?" He outstretched the bottle towards her, seeing if she was expecting to repeat their routine from last night.

Sanji almost immediately scolded Zoro for calling her a witch, as well as offering her a bottle that the swordsman's mouth had been on… but quickly stopped when he noticed Nami reach out for the bottle. "Yeah…" she said with a sly smirk on her face as took the bottle from his hands "thanks for the offer, marimo."

Both Perona and Sanji burst into laughter from hearing Sanji's favorite insult come out of Nami's mouth, but Zoro wasn't amused. "Dammit, who the hell are you calling marimo, you witch?"

Nami didn't respond to his outburst with words; she simply winked at him as she took a swig from the bottle herself and placed it back in the middle of the table. Finally her eyes left the man across from her and traveled to the covered plate that Sanji was placing in front of her. "Here you are mademoiselle" the cook spoke softly as he lifted the lid off the plate. "Your lunch is served."

Nami was in genuine awe at the spread in front of her: besides the salad and fresh breadsticks that she had already seen, Sanji had also prepared a delicious looking Chicken-Pasta-Alfredo with perfectly creamy white sauce covering the dish, yet not smothering the food. It was also accompanied by a light chicken broth soup perfect for dipping the breadsticks in, definitely a far stretch from the simple sandwiches and junk food that Zoro had served her the night before. "This all looks amazing Sanji-kun." She said honestly to the man as she watched him sit down across from Perona and beside Zoro to join them.

"If you think it looks amazing, just wait until you taste it, his food is to die for." Perona told the mikan-head with confidence.

"Such kind words from two lovely angels make me feel as though I am truly in heaven." Sanji chirped happily from the sound of the two women's praise, before getting a "Tch" from the man beside him in between bites of food. "And then I am reminded that this isn't heaven by having to look at your ugly mug marimo… and how dare you begin eating before the ladies?!"

Zoro shoved a big mouthful of food into his mouth before turning towards Sanji and saying "Eh…" knowing full well that it would only enrage the cook more.

"Don't talk with your mouth full bastard!"

As the two started to argue; Nami took the opportunity to taste the food in front of her. Her eyes widened in surprise as her taste-buds went into overload. She had never tasted food with as much flavor. She quickly took another bite to make sure her mind wasn't playing tricks on her. "It's delicious isn't it?" Perona asked her, getting an enthusiastic nod from the mikan-head in response. "Try the breadsticks and the broth." Nami did as was suggested, quickly grabbing a breadstick and dipping it into the chicken broth before taking a bite. Her mouth went into an instant face splitting smile as she savored the taste of her meal.

"Sanji-kun, this food is incredible." She spoke after a quick swallow, causing the two men to completely halt in their argument. "It could be served in a five-star restaurant."

"I'm so glad you like it Nami-swan!" He exclaimed happily with his one visible eye transforming into a heart.

Nami heard Perona give a light chuckle besides her, causing her to direct her attention towards the pinkette. "It is served in a five-star restaurant. Sanji is the owner and main chef at the Grand Baratie."

Nami's mouth gaped at Perona's words; despite being relatively new to the Grandline, even Nami had heard of the famous Grand Baratie: a recently opened luxurious floating restaurant that moved between a few different islands of the Grandline, in fact; now that she thought about it, it was said to float just a little north of Kuraigana Island in some of the calmer waters. The reason she knew of it was because of its older sister restaurant in the East Blue known simply as the Baratie. The Grand Baratie was supposed to be nearly triple the size of its older sister and valued at over 3 billion Beli. It was said that you had to book a reservation 6 months in advance to even hope to get a table there.

"You own the Grand Baratie?" She spoke in pure shock to the cook. "I've always wanted to try and eat there at least once in my life, but…" She paused as she thought about her circumstances, she had something more pressing to do than to go to a fancy restaurant.

"It would be my pleasure to take you there Nami-swan. I would make sure you had the best table in the house, and only ate the finest food and had the best wine." The cook started to explain excitedly. "You would get only the best service and…"

"Oi…" Zoro spoke up, interrupting Sanji's promises. "Did you forget about the part where she was leaving?" Zoro's words caused the cook to instantly slump into his chair and fall silent with depression.

Nami looked across the table at the swordsman, trying to figure out if that was his way of saying that he wanted her gone, or if he was able to read her concerns. There was no anger in the man's voice, or malice in his eye, he had said it because it needed to be said. And Nami was actually grateful for it; she couldn't have fantasies about fine dining, and despite how much fun she was having with these people, she was going to have to leave soon, all of the diners fell into an awkward silence for a few moments as they continued to eat their food. All of the food on the table was almost completely gone when Perona decided to break the silence.

"Speaking of you leaving…" The pinkette started to say. "There has been something bothering me for a little while. How did you even get here?"

Nami was slightly confused at the question, she thought that it would be obvious. "I sailed here last night." She answered matter of fact like. "I docked the boat on that wooden dock next to the path leading to the castle. Didn't you guys dock there too? You should have seen it."

Both Perona and Sanji cringed at Nami's answer. They looked at each other with a hint of worry in both of their faces. "I was afraid you'd say that." Perona spoke softly.

Nami could feel that bed news was coming, and looked across the table to the two men for further explanation. "I'm so sorry Nami-san. The waves get bad on that side of the island, and if the boat isn't big enough and doesn't have its own anchor; the waves will normally take it back out to sea or smash it against the shore."

The mikan-head stared at the cook for a moment with a blank look on her face as she processed the information he had just told her, and then suddenly it clicked "WWWWHHHHAAATTT!"

-0-0-0-0-

Zoro, Sanji, and Perona all stood just a little up the path down to the dock. They watched silently as Nami sat on the wooden-dock with her knees hugged tightly to her chest and her chin resting on them. To say she was distressed would probably be an understatement: After abruptly jumping up from her seat at the dining table and sprinting outside, Zoro, Sanji, and Perona quickly followed her out the door and down the path to witness the mikan-head throwing a temper tantrum and screaming wild curses into the air before finally settling down into her current position and staring at the broken rope, which besides a few broken boards floating by some nearby rocks, is the only evidence of her former vessel even being there.

The three up the path continued to watch the woman in silence; occasionally glancing at each other wondering what they should do.

"She's being awfully quiet now. Someone needs to go talk to her, and make sure she is okay." Perona whispered to the two men standing next to her.

"I can't just sit by while a woman is in distress. I'll go do it." Sanji said as he put the cigarette he was smoking out on the ground.

"Not you baka." The pinkette said to the chef. "You'll just flirt with her and make it worse. You go Zoro."

"Eh" He responded in confusion. "Why the hell should I go? You're a woman; wouldn't it be easier for you to talk to her?"

"I don't even know the girl." Perona defended.

"I don't either" Zoro shot back, trying his best to not explode and make a scene. "I just met her last night. I didn't even know she had a name until about an hour ago."

"Well you've still dealt with her the most. Now go!" Perona demanded as she stamped her foot to the ground and pointed towards Nami on the dock.

Zoro mumbled a few curses before starting to head that way, but not before getting some input from Sanji. "And you better not upset her anymore you shitty-marimo, make sure to talk to her properly or I'll kick your ass, you hear me?"

"Shut your damn mouth cook. I don't want to do this in the first place." Zoro shot back at him, before continuing his way down to the dock.

Zoro approached the mikan-head's back, and stood over her for a few moments. He was sure she knew he was there, but she made no effort to turn around and acknowledge him. He scratched the back of his head for a moment, trying to figure out what to say to her, before letting out an "Oi". He still got no response from her as she just continued to stare at the rope hanging off of the wooden pillar in front of her. "Are you alright witch?" His question was flat and emotionless, but it finally got a response from her as she turned her head to look up at him with cold eyes.

"Do I look like I'm alright baka?" She said in a low, and somewhat dangerous voice. "Pretty much everything I owned was on that boat." She quickly jumped up to her feet and got in the swordsman face. "All of my clothes," She began listing while emphasizing each item with her fingers "Some treasure I stole from a rotten politician, and 3 Eternal Poses that I paid damn good Beli for. So tell me exactly what is supposed to be alright?"

"You can buy more clothes and steal more treasure." He said flatly trying not to scream directly into her face. "It doesn't sound like you lost anything important to me."

"And how the hell am I supposed to do that?!" She screamed at him. "My boat is gone! Where the hell am I supposed to get another one?"

"How the hell should I know?!" He finally started screaming back at her, no longer being able to hold in his own temper. "It isn't my damn fault that your boat got swept away. What the hell do you expect me to do about it?"

"How about trying to be a little sympathetic to a girl in need you jerk?"

"Well if you see one make sure to tell me because all I see right now is a loud witch!"

"Dammit you barbarian!" Sanji screamed as he started sprinting towards Zoro's location. "I told you to not upset her anymore! And how dare you call her that?!" Sanji took to the air to do a flying jump kick at Zoro, only for Zoro to immediately draw a sword and block it. The two then started to engage in a small tussle before finally…

"Would you two baka knock it the hell off?!" Nami screamed before hitting them both upside their heads and causing them to fall down face first into the wooden dock. But despite her violent outburst, Nami could feel a small smile creep to her lips. Whether the swordsman realized it or not, the argument she had with him was just what she needed to get over her melancholy state.

"Horo-horo-horo" The mikan-head heard from Perona as she approached from behind. "Well I guess there is only one real solution to this. We'll have to give you a ride to the closest island so that you can find some new clothes and see about possibly finding a new boat." Perona told her with a smile across her face.

"You guys won't mind?" Nami asked, a little embarrassed that she would have to rely on their kindness yet again, but still very grateful for it.

"Not at all." Perona answered her. "After all; it would be so un-cute if you had to wear those same clothes for a few days, and I'm not letting you borrow anymore of mine. Besides; we were needing to go pick up some things anyway, we just came back earlier to get Zoro so he could help with the heavy lifting; it is about the only thing he is good for."

"Tch" Nami heard coming from below her. She looked down to see the swordsman, as he now sat cross-legged with his arms across his chest, having completely recovered from her attack. He was turned slightly away from her and his gaze was on anywhere but her or Perona.

"So does this mean that we get to spend more time with Nami-swan before she parts from us?" This time the voice was to the left of her, and when she turned to look at the voice's owner, she was somehow no longer surprised to see the cook doing his little noodle-dance with a heart in his eye.

"As long as that's alright with everyone?" Nami spoke quietly, mainly directing her comment to the man sitting nearby on the ground. She was however surprised slightly to see the swordsman turn his gaze to her, before responding with a nod and slight curve of the lips and letting out a small "Hmph" in confirmation.

Nami found herself smiling again. Regardless of how much she tried to figure out her hosts; she was still genuinely taken aback by the kindness of these people. She knew she was stepping into dangerous territory, because their kindness was making her already feel herself starting to become very attached to them all, and oddly enough; especially the swordsman.

End Chapter 2

*frawn is going to by the nickname I use when Sanji is specifically addressing Perona in an over affectionate way. It is of course a play on the word "fawn" (Fawn: To exhibit affection or attempt to please), and since he sometimes has a habit of slurring his words, such as san to swan or chan to chwan, Perona will be Perona-frawn ;}

So… what did ya all think? Was it a good chap, a bad one, disappointing? Tell me Dammit!

Well it might be a bit before my next update. This is going to be a really busy month for me because I'm planning a vacation overseas to go see someone very special ;}, but it is also a 14 hour flight so I'll try to make it a working vacation if I can.

As always; thank you so much for taking the time to read, and please review.