Nami had always known Zoro to be a proud sort of man who wouldn't let his pain show if he could avoid it; so it came as no surprise to her when she heard not one peep from the echoing hallway except the muffled questions of the interrogators for nearly five minutes.

But then, just when she was beginning to hope it was all a hoax a scream of agony ripped her ears and hopes and sent a shiver down her spine. Her body nearly trembled in fear.

Her thin lips trembled too, so she bit them to keep them still, trying to think of something she could do. Nami had never felt more useless. Orange hair hung over her eyes as her head sank onto her chest. Determination slowly built in the girl's face as she tried to muster the strength and bravery she wanted to send him. Finally, Nami took a deep breath and yelled out in inspiration taken from her very verbal Captain and with all her might: "Hang in there! It's gunna be alright!! Zoro!!!"

Nami's outburst was answered by a silence so complete that she could hear her own voice repeating almost six times throughout the long maze of the strange Navy building.

That awful scream did not come again, and Nami was able to catch a small dose of sleep with a now slightly peaceful mind.

:o:o:o:o:o:o:

Cruel and hard laughter from a small number of men woke her not half an hour later. Carmel eyes shot open as she felt something on her foot. Nami kicked wildly, trying to force whatever it was off. She scanned the area quickly to see her left leg chained and to find Zoro being thrown into the cell, his white shirt following suit. The Navy officers didn't bother to bind him to the floor, obviously thinking he was little or no threat to them in this broken state. From the small distance between them he appeared unconscious. Nami didn't struggle again. She knew that the sooner she helped Zoro, and the sooner the Navy dogs left, the better.

Once her other leg was chained against the wall the guards set Nami's arms free, quickly closing the door behind them as they escaped from the possible wrath of her fiery temper.

The sounds of glee continued as they kicked in a bowl of questionable water and a plate of bread and cheese. "Take a good look, that's going to be you if the two of you can't put your heads together and tell us what we want to hear." With these words the ruthless "humans" left the two alone. It was part of their orders to give the captives space to privately barter on the issue.

"Zoro…" Nami's kind brown eyes trailed down his muscular and heavily beaten back. 'They whipped him, those bastards.' She thought angrily, taking her still wild running emotions out on his shirt as she ripped it into strips for bandages. There were a few burn marks as well, and she was almost afraid to look at his front.

"Zoro." She repeated, this time trying to wake him up. A growl was all she got. Nami sighed quietly and tried to lift his head. She wanted him to drink some of the water before she used it to clean his injuries. Having already tried a sip and deemed it safe she was anxious for him to take some. "Please." The novice doctor stressed.

Her hands were trembling, this time from fatigue and hunger, and Nami didn't want to collapse before treating him—even if bandaging and washing his wounds was the most she could manage.

'Chopper could do better. Much better…'

Against her will tears of anger and frustration began to build up in her eyes. They leaked out and dropped onto the green haired swords man's face. This woke him up successfully and Zoro nearly tore himself away from her before realizing who had him now.

"Oh…just you." "No kidding. Drink." She pressed, holding up the bowl for him.

Zoro didn't protest but willingly took a short, cool draught of the questionable liquid. He didn't even have the energy to protest when she set his head down gingerly in her lap for better access to his back, though it surprised him.

For a while the baffled swordsman's pain was dulled as his mind was taken off it and wandered in the land of "figuring out women." After a while he concluded that it was for his own good and that he should just…enjoy it.

"How's your front?" Nami asked solemnly as she cleaned sensitive skin with a wad of uselessly short scraps from his shirt.

"It's—Arg—fine….They-SHIT!—didn't do, for the love of--Nami!!" He glared at her. "Not so damn HARD." Zoro winced at the mere effort of yelling at her and dug his forehead into her thigh, fists clenched against the pain.

'Damn it, woman…' He thought to himself, now feeling a strange sensation of guilt for yelling at her. All the unwanted toxins in their bodies must be doing weird things to their hormones, he concluded, because she was crying almost continually and he was being…emotional. Zoro felt anxious when he wasn't with her, pride in her when she called out to him, embarrassed by her closeness and now this guilt. Anger at the little things was natural for him so he didn't count that.

'But damn it! I'm the man here, I'm her crewmate so I'm suppose to protect her and yet she's the one who's busy taking care of us…' This mental criticism kept him quiet while Nami worked to clean the salt out of a small flesh-deep stab.

From the awkward but comfortable position on her lap Zoro was at full liberty to turn his eyes slightly upward and look strait up her skirt—she was, after all, still dressed for a night at the bar and adorned only a simple black cocktail dress with more than a generous amount of cleavage. Being well aware of the fact he resolved to look elsewhere. Black eyes wandered around the haze framed room until he noticed the untouched food. "Eat something." He commanded, though it was about as forceful as it would have been if Chopper had said it.

This statement, which reminded her of her reindeer friend, made Nami smile without weariness. "Not now. Can you sit up?"

Zoro scoffed. "How weak do you think I am woman? This is no-uu-thing…" He arched his back to sit up and a raspy moan claimed half the word. It took Nami's help to keep Zoro up once he was there, giving his ego a beating to match that of his body.

"See?" Her voice sounded like she was on the verge of a good cry. Not just her voice but her smile as well was affected by her companion's expression of pain. As she watched him struggle her lips quivered slightly, just barely keeping the flood in check. With one weak arm she held him up and with the other wrapped the scraps of Zoro's shirt around his abused flesh.

Every so often her hand would brush against his side and Zoro would breath a quick inhale of shivering pleasure. He convinced himself it was only his body being thankful for the kind touch instead of a beating but despite this a resolution a blush settled under his eyes and he turned his head away.

A minute later the rough swordsman steadied himself on the wall while Nami used two hands to tie down the end of the shabby bandage. Her slender hands paused to hover above his weathered chest for longer than he liked "What's the matter?" 'Are you alright?' Was what Zoro knew he really should have asked.

Nami didn't respond right away and didn't let her hands drop until she'd risen to her knees and planted a whisper of a kiss on his bruising eyebrow. Zoro's shock showed clearly in his expression alongside the dimming pain.

"I'm sorry. If I hadn't wanted you to come with me back at that damn--" She drew a sobbing breath and closed her eyes, covering them with her shaking arm. "--damn island…Damn tears." She mumbled quickly after the failed apology speech.

"…" Zoro blinked. Acting fast he pushed off the wall and reached for the pitiful food. With some unwanted difficulty he tore off a piece of bread and held it up to her lips.

"Eat." He commanded again, though this time around the difference in his voice was enough to make her look up and into his eyes, her arm drifting down to her side. Such cool, black eyes…such a strange look in them too.

Lips chewed a blushing red opened slowly and he put the bread in, neither looking away during the action or after she'd swallowed it.

"…It sucks…" was Nami's delayed evaluation of the hard and stale mouthful.

Somehow the hung over, drugged, starved, dehydrated and weary pirates found this humorous and slowly a laugh crept over them until neither could hold it in. Just one laugh, no more than half a minute, but it was enough to lift their spirits a little.

Given the circumstance, to any outsider it must have seemed an eerie sound and was certainly enough to attract the attention of the watchman. "Giggling over your decision to tell us the location of the treasure are we?" He asked over the echoes of the swordsman and the navigators' laughter and his own footsteps. "How fortunate."

Out of instinct Zoro made a quick but weak attempt to shield Nami with the only weapon he had left—his body.

The sharp sound of the key clicking in the lock confirmed the opening of the door and the entering of danger.

"Tsh." He tried to nock Zoro away with the side of the spear once but Zoro wouldn't budge except to try and grab the attacking object and use it. When Zoro's grip slipped on the waxed and rounded metal the guard drew it up above his head and out of reach.

Without hesitation he stuck the fine tipped spearhead into Zoro's side and flung him away with ease to land in a pile of limbs and green hair in the corner.

"Zoro!" Nami lashed out at the man attacking but found his hand around her throat faster than she could have dodged and it was all she could do just to breath. He unlocked her swiftly with the same key while both pirates were out of commission.

By the time Zoro had gathered himself enough to throw his bleeding body at the worthless guard he was met by the slam of the door. "SHIT!" Determined eyes fumed as he watched Nami as she was dragged off down the hall, struggling like a fish. The blood trickling from his side increased and pulsated when, in a desperate and reckless attempt to save his friend, he began to pull at the bars with the weak sum of strength he had left. It was his blind goal to open the door: pry it, bend it, anything! He had to be free, he had to save Nami before they took her to the room they'd just released him from.

"Aaaaaaaaah!"

The fierce but nearly powerless battle cry sounded down the stone walls and frightened all the officers who heard it.

"You idiot, you're killing yourself!" Nami yelled back at him, watching the blood pool at his feel. "Stop! Stop it right now! Zoro! Zoro…"

"Eh? Ha ha ha." The guard turned and laughed at the pitiful struggle of his captive. "Go ahead, bleed yourself to death then. Worthless piece of--" The back of Nami's head smacked hard against his nose, nearly making the cartilage cave in and it certainly made it break. He fell unconscious and slumped to the floor like an old washcloth. Nami grabbed his keys and ran back to Zoro.

The swordsman was almost blind with rage, adrenaline, and blood loss and didn't seem to see Nami's unsteady hands unlock the cell. Once she heard it click she tried to pull the door open but Zoro was pulling on it so hard it wouldn't budge.

Another spurt of blood from the open stab wound made her desperate and Nami took his face in her hands with a hard slapping force. "ZORO!"

Ooh…cliffhanger….