A/N: Polls are still open for the M-rated-ness of the story, though i myself am kind of leaning towards the yes... I mean, a couple, alone in the middle of the sea -things are naturally going to go down. Just saying. If anything's going to happen, it's going to happen next chapter, so get voting!

This chapter jumps back and forth a lot, between Zoro and Robin and the rest of the crew. I've said it before, but I really do find it more difficult to get into Robin's mindset, and with there not being a lot of things going on while being stranded on the boat, I just find it easier to work this way. But things will probably start picking up next chapter.

But I hope you enjoy! :)


Chapter 3

I didn't bother sitting at the helm. No matter how I turned the wheel, the chances that'd we'd arrive at an island was slim. The chances we'd run into other Pirates, or anyone else, were so slim.

Sitting on the swing, I watched the needle as I turned the log pose left and right. I leaned my head against the rope and sighed, looking up at the bright blue sky. I hated the sun for shining down so brightly on our situation. I glanced at Zoro, who was at the helm. He rested his left hand on the wheel, turning it left and right without really thinking about it.

What were we going to do?


Usopp and Chopper sat in the branches of a tree towards the middle of the island, waiting for Luffy to run by. They hoped he hadn't stopped playing to go and be with Nami like he sometimes did on the ship.

"Do you think Zoro and Robin are okay?" Chopper asked after a while. "They don't have the log pose."

"Did I ever tell you about the time that I was on a boat all alone at sea without a compass?" Usopp said, lifting his nose into the air with confidence. "I spent two years out on my own before I finally made it back to land. No food, no fresh water…"

"Really?" Chopper's eyes went wide. "How on earth did you survive?"

"I –"

"Shishishi," Luffy's laughter came from behind them. "Usopp, you're such a liar."

The two of them jumped turning to see their captain on the branch across from them.

"Oh, yeah, and I found you guys."


"Having a drink?" Zoro asked, walking into the aquarium.

"Well, it's not like we can get into a much worse situation," I sighed, pushing my hair behind my ear as I leaned onto the bar. "And I'm not touching the alcohol that Nami gave us, so I should be fine."

"Pass me a glass," He said, crossing the room.

"What's sad is that it's not even noon yet," I said, taking a glass and filling it up for him.

"What's sad is how worried you're getting," He slid into the seat beside me, planting a kiss on my cheek. "It'll be fine. Everyone will laugh it off."

I smirked, "Except for Nami."

"Don't say that. She's going to be in my nightmares until we get back," He gulped the sake down.

I chuckled, shaking my head. "Namiphobia. Oh, how you suffer."

"I'd have to say I've been suffering for three years," He rolled his eyes. "But I'd have to say more than my fear of Nami, I'm always scared of what Luffy has going on his head for our next adventure."

"Or what dangerous feat he'll attempt. Like taking on the World Government –"

"Or the Shichibukai –"

"Or risking his life for us –"

"And taking on all our pain…"

"Despite being an idiot, he's a good captain," I smiled down into my glass before setting it down. "Do you think he's worried about us?"

"Nah," Zoro said. "He knows we'll get back on our own."

"Mm," I agreed, turning my gaze to the fish swimming around us. I watched them silently for a while before letting out a deep breath. "You're right."


Sanji lit his cigarette as he walked through the marketplace. He waved the flame on the tip of the match out, throwing it in the nearest trash as he went by. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he looked around.

He spotted Luffy and Nami. Nami looked so serious, but Luffy was laughing. Her hand shot out, pounding her fist into his skull. As he covered his injury with his hands, Nami cracked a smile, blushing and looking away when the captain looked back up at her.

A vein was pumping furiously in his temple, but Sanji turned away, absentmindedly looking over the assortment of fruits on display. It was bad enough that he was finally starting to accept Nami and Luffy as a couple –as childish and unsuitable Luffy was for her.

"Would you like some?" The old lady behind the fruit said.

Sanji smiled politely. "No, but thank you."

He glanced over at Nami and Luffy, who now faced each other awkwardly.

How on earth could he let Robin fall for that muscle head?


"Fishing?" I asked, coming up behind him on the deck.

Zoro glanced at me. "I just really felt like fishing."

"I see," I smiled, looking down at the blue sea. "I'll use whatever you catch for dinner tonight then."

"Do you want to try?" He asked.

"I'm fine," I said, climbing up on the railing beside him. I crossed my legs and waved the book I had in my hand. "I want to finish this."

"What's it about?" He asked.

"It's a romance; do you really want to know?"

"Not really, no," Zoro admitted.

"It is adventurous, though," I told him.

"Oh?"

"Mm," I opened to the page I was on. "There are dragons, and wizards and an evil king who overshadow the rightful king."

"Sounds adventurous," He said, mocking me slightly.

"Oh, it is," I smiled, elbowing him playfully and rolling my eyes.

The quiet of the ship echoed into the empty sea. Except for the occasion reeling from Zoro and his fishing, and my page turning, there was no sound. It was too quiet. It was unnatural.

"Read to me," Zoro said suddenly, and I think he was feeling the same way I was.

I turned to the beginning of the book.

"You don't have to restart," He told me.

"Zoro, we're in the middle of no where," I said, waving to the open waters. "You might as well hear the whole thing. Who knows how long we'll be out here."

"Alright," He shrugged.

I licked my lips and began reading out loud.

Far off, in the land of Lacroast, there lived a king and a queen. All the king had wanted was for the queen to give birth to the most beautiful baby boy so that he could be raised to succeed the throne. When years had gone by and no baby had been born, the king found himself a mistress. And about the time that the mistress found out she was pregnant, so had the queen…

I continued reading, and Zoro continued fishing. I didn't know whether or not he was enjoying –or whether or not he was listening, but I was glad for the sound even if it were my own voice.


"Yohoho!" Brooke laughed to himself as he walked along the coast line. "What a pretty shell."

He bent down to pick up the pearl-coloured conch shell, and then stood up straight. He turned it around in his hands, before putting one end to his mouth and blowing. A deep bellowing sound came out and he grinned.

"Oh, what a beautiful sound to hear –not that I have ears to hear with!" Brooke cracked his skeleton joke as he placed the shell back on the ground. He started humming as he continued to walk, wishing he had his violin, which was on the missing ship. He hoped they returned soon.

He really wanted to play his music.


"What happens next?" Zoro asked when I stopped.

"I'll continue after we eat. Noon's past so long ago already," I told him, standing up. While I had been reading, I had changed my position to sitting on the deck and leaning against the railing. I was surprised Zoro had gotten into the story.

"But she's going to tell him, right? Now that she knows that he's the rightful king?"

"He'd probably be happier not knowing," Robin said, unable to contain her smile.

Zoro shrugged, "He still should know."

"Would you want to know?"

"I think so."

"Would you go and become king?"

"No. That's Luffy's job."

We walked up the stairs and to the kitchen door.

Zoro paused and looked at me. "I just realized we're going to be letting that idiot rule the sea."

"Not an idiot," I opened the door and walked in. "Just a simple-minded boy that doesn't know when to stop."

"So an idiot. But I suppose it's better than the World Government."

"In the end, simplicity is best."


"What are you doing?" Luffy asked, sitting beside Franky at the table in their inn room.

"Fixing the gun in my arm," He replied.

Luffy watched for a moment, "Are you upgrading it?"

"No. I'm just fixing it. Anything that I would use to upgrade myself would be on the ship," He said.

"Are you going to test it on anything?"

"No. It's minor damage; there should be no reason for testing."

"That's no fun," Luffy sighed, getting up and leaving the room once more. "I wonder where Usopp, Chopper and Brooke are."


"So these types of dragons that are mentioned here have scales and weird wings, right?" Zoro asked, lifting weights. "So they don't look like the Sennenryu?"

"Mm… Do you have a pen and paper up here?" I asked, looking around the room.

"Why would I need a pen and paper?" He muttered.

I created a chain of arms with an eye in the palm of the leading hand, going into the library and into Nami's desk. Retrieving the material, I closed the book and used it so I could draw a dragon. When I finished, I handed him the piece of paper. He set down the dumbbell, taking it and looking it over.

"So this is a dragon," He murmured, lifting the picture into the light of the sun. "It doesn't look that fierce. I could bring it down."

"Of course you could," I said, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "If you couldn't rescue me from a dragon, how on earth could I expect you to rescue me from anything else?"

"And its scales are as hard as diamonds," Zoro murmured, looking at the picture once more before tossing it aside. "I've never tried to cut diamonds before, but it can't be much harder than steel and iron, right?"

"I'm sure you could do it," I folded my knees underneath me and stretched.

"So what's the female wizard going to do now?"

"Well, we're about to find out," I told him, opening the book up once again. "Now, where were we…?"


I put the clothes I'd bought today in the drawers of my room. Robin had run off with my wardrobe, I realized earlier, and I sure as hell wasn't going to spend my time in the same clothes for however long it was until they returned.

I went to the window and looked down at the street upon hearing Luffy's laugh. He was running away from Usopp and Brooke, while Chopper was laughing so hard he could hardly stand. It was nice that they could still have fun, but I was worried. None of them seemed to realize how dangerous it was to not have a log pose in this sea.

Not only couldn't they get back, but they couldn't get to another island either.

Crossing the room, I laid down on my bed, tired although I hadn't done anything all day. With the two of them missing, everybody did seem off beat. I couldn't imagine how bad it was for them, with seven crew members missing.

Could they handle it?