Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.
Author's Note: Wow, so many reviews for that last chapter! Thank you. I am happy to see more favourites and follows too. I am sorry for making you all wait so long for this chapter to come out.
Mars – you are not sadistic… if you are classified as being such for reading then what does it mean for me, the one imagining and writing all of this? I dread to think. As far as I am concerned we just like a bit of drama and see the heroes win against all odds.
Sobasicallyme – writing a story on torture is difficult in a sense but much easier than writing action scenes…I find those the hardest out of all of them. I think this is why I am trying to write something different, to force myself out of my comfort zone. I could easily write romance and humour for hours on end, but this is different. I have a vague idea in my head of a story line and a beginning and bits in between but usually I have to really think and focus on what I am trying to get across in order to get it right…that's when I slip up. I can be an impulsive writer and sometimes post things on the spur of the moment and that can be my weakness so I am trying to do this justice and take more time and effort with it instead of rushing something.
Anyway, enough about me…there are villains to catch and heroes to heal…
Broken
Chapter 8
Nami slowly drifted out of the darkness that had swept upon her, her mind becoming alert slowly and groggily and her body feeling heavy. There was a dull thumping sound in the distance and she found herself drawn to it. She opened her eyes but could see nothing but darkness so thick that she was unable to see her hand before her face. Yet as dark as it was for some reason she didn't feel afraid and instead found her body moving on it's own and taking several steps toward the thumping sound that was slowly becoming louder. What is that? she thought, unable to focus on anything else. The sound shook her to the core and she stopped in her tracks. Its close, she realised. A throbbing in her own chest drew her attention and she placed a hand on her breast steadying her breathing. It's a heart beat? She realised slowly as her own heart began beating at the same calm pace.
As Nami tried to contemplate who the beating heart belonged to her mind started to play tricks with her. As the heart beat changed location a small amount of worry began to build to the surface, forming bile in her stomach. Who does it belong to? She wondered, spinning around and looking in all directions to try to figure out where the person was and praying it wasn't the enemy. The beat did not change in pace but echoed through her so loudly now that she could no longer run from it even if she wanted to. It had drawn her in and soothed her soul but she now could not focus on anything but the doubts in her mind and an eerie obsession took over, forcing her other senses into action like an alarm.
Nami looked down at her own body as she began to feel heat flowing through her. It was warm and welcoming at first but as she became conscious of it her body felt like it was on fire and started to glow red.…why am I hot? What is happening to me? She tried to force herself to move in order to feel less suffocated and struggled. Her body would not respond to her and she suddenly felt trapped. Panic started to build and her heart raced faster. She felt like the darkness was closing in on her. She looked around in desperation and a small speck of gold light caught her attention and showed her the way out, filling her with hope. She managed to force her heavy limbs to move and step towards the glowing metallic embers.
Nami's eyes shot open and met the glint of moonlight reflecting off three delicate earrings. As soon as her mind registered she was not alone her body bolted upright in shock and fear. It slowly dawned on her that it was just a dream but her heart was still racing in her chest and was painful against her broken ribcage. She sat in the dark in silence for a period of time listening to nothing but the ringing in her ears and the throbbing of her pulse. She took in several deep breathes to calm her nerves and blinked repeatedly until her eyes adjusted to the light and she slowly recalled where she was. She was on the Sunny and in her own bedroom.
That's right, she remembered, gritting her teeth and gripping hold of her clothing which was now wet with sweat from her sleep. Her mind steadily filled itself up with the memories of recent events and she felt nauseous. The sound of heavy snoring broke her thoughts and she suddenly remembered that she was not alone in the room. She turned to find the sleeping figure of the swordsman that sat right next to her, resting his back against the bed head with his head tilted back and his mouth open.
Nami scanned him for several moments and then looked at her own position. The pins and needles sensation in her hands and lower arms made her realise she must have been lying on them for a long period of time. She sat and tried to open and close her hands to gain circulation again but while doing so began to realise that she was sitting in between Zoro's legs. She began to remember how he had entered her room with a sad look in his eyes and an ember of anger and desire flaring through him. He had embraced her and refused to let go as she wept in his arms, clinging to him with dear life. I must have fallen asleep, she realised. Reflecting on her strange dream she became aware that the sound she had heard must have been his heart beat and the heat she felt was most likely their body heat. She sighed with relief and felt her body relax a little. The sensation of being trapped was just his strong embrace and the glint of golden light was his earrings. The realisation helped the tension in her muscles relax, I am safe, she thought.
Zoro stirred and moved, grunting and shuffling his feet. The feeling of leather brushing against her back made Nami look down…he was still wearing his boots and they were on her bed! An old irritation formed a small crack in the back of her mind and for an instant she felt the desire to punch him awake. But when she recalled how he held her when she needed to be held, how he scolded her when she needed to hear those words, how he disposed of the evidence and shed blood for her she stopped herself. "You really are a big idiot" she whispered with a small smile forming on her lips. She watched as the moonlight glistened on his face and highlighted all of his shaded and dark areas. He appeared dangerous, even in slumber, like a dragon you wouldn't want to wake. She couldn't help but be drawn to the strength of his aura and subconsciously leant in a little.
She gently placed a hand on his chest and stiffened in apprehension of him moving. When he didn't respond she breathed out and then placed her other hand on her own chest. She closed her eyes and focussed in on the beating of his heart and the pounding of her own. She calmed her breathing and counted the pace of the beats, forcing hers to be in line with his. It gave her a strange comfort and sense of unity that she had never had before. The action helped her to ignore the pain in her body and ache in her womb that threatened to break through her solitude. She just kept focussing on what was in the here and now; What she could touch with her own hands, see with her own eyes and … it's changed! She realised suddenly. Zoro's heart beat had become faster and the shock forced her to open her eyes. Her face was surprising close to his and she froze in fear. Some how, in her lost moment, she had leant in closer to him and was now being met by a confused swordsman's glare.
Zoro reached up and placed his hand on the hand she had on his chest. He gripped her hand and lifted it off him, pushing her back slightly as he sat upright, "What are you doing?" he asked. Nami found herself unable to move much, retracting slightly and staring at his hand holding onto hers. She could no longer blame the heat she had felt being from his body as her own began to rise in temperature unexpectedly. What the hell was I doing? She wondered desperately.
Zoro sat studying the flushed face of the woman that still remained within his reach. He could feel the heat radiating from her and could still feel her breathe on his neck as she had slept. When he had felt her stir awake and move his body had alerted him of the cold and directed his consciousness back into reality. He had to admit though he was surprised to find her that close to him when he woke up. It was tempting to say the least to react to such an action, but he also knew he was most likely reading the situation wrong and her reaction to him told him he was right. He looked at their interlocked hands and reluctantly let her go. Nami moved her hand to her chest and grasped it closely. It was clear she was unable to respond to his question and seemed a little embarrassed. Deciding to ignore it he leant forward and immediately felt his back creak and neck crack. He placed a hand up to touch the later and massaged it a little. "I must have fallen asleep" he pointed out, trying to break the now uncomfortable silence and brushing the matter off to make her feel better, "sorry" he apologised. He knew that holding her was one thing but sleeping with her was a different kettle of fish and a furnace that he dared not enter right now.
Nami did not reply to him. She was at a total loss of what to say and her mind was reeling with all sorts of images and memories, good and bad alike. "Hey, are you alright?" Zoro asked, worried he had done or said something to offend her. He reached a hand out to touch her shoulder and her body jerked her mind back into reality. Realising he was waiting for a response she desperately tried to find something to say.
"Boots" she replied randomly.
"Eh?" was his response. It was enough to distract them both though and she turned to face him.
"Your boots" she commented, her voice regaining a little more composure. "Take them off" she ordered. Zoro removed his hand from her shoulder and looked down at his legs. He realised he had been unable to take them off while her sleeping dead weight had crushed itself against him. He positioned his feet over the edge of the bed and in his sleepy daze did what he was told and removed his footwear. He then brushed his hand over the bed to make sure any dirt from them was removed.
"There, satisfied?" he asked. Nami nodded her head briefly and then fell into silence again. She watched Zoro's back as he sat on the edge of the bed and stretched out his muscles. "What time is it?" he asked.
"I don't know" Nami's voice replied behind him, it's still pretty late though, she thought. Her body suddenly shivered and she started to rub her hands on her arms. Before she knew it she had instinctively moved closer to him to gain more of his heat.
Zoro was alert to the shuffle of fabric and knew Nami had moved her position like a sly cat. His instincts told him she was getting closer and for some reason he felt his body stiffen as his instincts told him something was going to happen. Before he knew it a pair of hands rested their palms on his back and a head slowly joined them.
"Nami" he spoke her name softly and at the same time the tone of his voice acted as a warning.
"Don't say anything" she pleaded, "just …" she was unable to finish her words and instead remained silent for a few moments before speaking again, "it's changed again" she commented quietly.
"What has?" he asked sceptically.
"Your heart beat" she remarked, glad he could no longer see her from this position. She had not idea what her face would look like right now but had never felt so weak, frail and dependent before. She was just relieved to find as calm and collected as this man seemed that his heart rate was beating as fast as her own and she wasn't the only nervous one in the room.
"Hmph" Zoro replied, "What do you expect when you touch me like that?" he remarked honestly, noticing the change himself. Silence filled the space around them and he waited for her to speak. Somehow he knew she would. The atmosphere felt calmer and he suspected that she had been thinking about a lot about things. It was finally time for her to speak up.
"They promised me if I did what they asked they wouldn't hurt the others" she began. Zoro felt his muscles jerk as they responded to the desire of breaking something, but there was nothing to break and all he could do was force him self to listen to everything she had to say. "They lied to me…I did what he wanted all that time and it didn't stop the beatings that Franky and Usopp got. No matter how much I pleaded them to stop…" He felt her lean into him more firmly and her hands moved to surround her arms around his waist, holding him in place and squeezing him tightly. "Their leader, a man called Haru, kept me in a separate location to the other two. He said I was a special case and locked me up in a cage with other women. Some of them were young girls" she cringed, remembering them made her heart ache. Zoro placed his hand on top of hers as they gripped each other around his mid riff. It was his subtle way of saying it was okay. He was there for her and would listen but she also didn't need to force herself. Nami though suddenly felt the need to let it all out and she wanted to make sure he would not try to run away from it all.
"I knew from the look of him he was incredibly powerful…and creepy too…but I stupidly thought that I could sweet talk my way into getting closer to him…it was my biggest mistake" she admitted. "I thought I could learn more about his strength and power and find a way of getting out of there but he had me fooled on every turn. Before I knew it I was already under his spell."
….
"Ready?" Sanji asked his two team mates who nodded in the darkness. They had spent some time getting camouflage and covering themselves in mud and grime. As disgusting as it was he had to admit it was a good plan. This way they could get closer without the risk of the dogs and animals being alerted to their presence and it was proving successful so far.
The old farmer had managed to get word to them to hide in a run down barn not far from the outskirts of the factory and he gave them a rough map of the layout of the land. All they had to do was wait for the signal that a diversion had started and they could make their own move.
"How will we know when they have succeeded?" Luffy asked, peaking out of the gap in the wood and growing irritated with waiting.
"Hayate-san said they would find a way to create an 'accident' to distract a couple of the guards when they checked the field" Robin explained, "Two men would then take their uniforms and swap them out, before heading to the stables. They will open the gates and set all of the horses free. Because they are important stock that is needed to traverse the land the guards will call upon as many able men as possible to help them get the horses back" she finished. Luffy had to admit his friends had more patience than he did. He barely remembered a fraction of that plan. If it wasn't for the fact they didn't want to split up too early and had people they were responsible for he would have gone in guns blazing by now. He definitely had no patience for strategy but had learnt the hard way already what jumping in a deep end could do.
The sound of footsteps drew their attention and Sanji placed his back to the wall, hand signalling the others to be silent. Robin crossed her arms and closed her eyes at his command to see who was coming. The moment she did so a whispered voice called out Luffy's name. Robin opened her eyes and smiled at her friends, "It is Kazuo" she voiced.
Luffy stretched a hand out and caught the boy, bringing him in swiftly and silently before slowly removing his hand from the kid's mouth.
"For a second I thought I was going to die!" the boy protested.
"Why are you here?" Sanji's frustrated tone did not go un-noticed. The kid was at risk of being found and caught. This was dangerous.
"I'm your signal" he replied with a grin, excited at the prospect of doing something risky.
"About time" Luffy replied, fisting the palm of his hand and proceeding to walk to the barn's exit. They were a few hundred feet away from the main barn that contained food and beverage. It would be the first place they went to as he for one needed some energy in his system and a back up supply of meat should he come face to face with the enemy. Sanji and Robin began to follow their captain and noticed a soft pair of steps following behind them. The cook stopped in his tracks and turned to look down at the boy. He must have been about the age of 12 at least.
"Where do you think you are going?" he asked.
"With you guys" the boy replied.
"No way" Sanji retorted.
"Why not?" Kazuo asked, offended, "I know the land better than anyone, you need me" he defended.
"It's too dangerous" Sanji snapped.
"Look we appreciate the support but Sanji-san is right" Robin replied, trying to reassure the child. "This man and his men have already managed to take down three of our friends" she explained, crouching before him to look him in the eye, "we don't want to be responsible for any more"
"I want to help my sister!" he protested. "I know I am young and it could mean my life, but I am willing to risk that if it means I can help make this land how it once was!"
"Let him come" Luffy's voice spoke up. The other two looked at him in surprise and then at each other.
"Luffy you can't be serious?" Sanji asked, "He's just a kid" he pointed out.
"So was Robin when she travelled the oceans on her own" Luffy commented, catching them off guard.
"That's different she had devil fruit powers!" Sanji retorted.
"I can fight!" Kazuo pointed out. "I haven't gained nothing from all the hard labour I have been doing" he explained. You wouldn't think it to look at the bean pole but then it made sense that the little food he had went to build muscle instead of fat with all the exercise he did.
Luffy walked up to the boy. His expression was serious and stern. "If we fail you and your family and friends might die" he pointed out, "or worse".
"I know" the boy replied. "But at least we will then be free" he commented.
Sanji sighed in defeat. They were wasting time and standing there arguing with a child and his captain wasn't going to help them any faster. "Fine" he commented, "but you need to stick close to me" he warned. Kazuo nodded in response and slowly followed them out of the barn.
As the evening breeze hit the three comrades it was mixed with the scent of smoke. "What is that?" Luffy asked.
"It smells like a fire" Robin pointed out. As Kazuo joined their side he nodded and pointed out to the distance. They followed his gesture and could see a huge fire in the distance.
"We set fire to most of the crop fields" he stated. "It should keep most of the guards attention for now" he almost seemed pleased with the successfulness of their strategy. Sure enough the plan was a good one but at the same time Sanji couldn't help but worry about what the risks were to the people of this island. Those fields were their livelihood and the main form of food supply for the island. Destroying it was a huge risk. Not to mention the fact that the guards would not allow the culprits any mercy. Even if the fire burnt all the evidence he suspected they were the type of people to pick on the weakest and blame whomever they wished.
"Let's go" Luffy ordered. Yes, Sanji realised, now was not the time to worry or procrastinate.
…
In the distance they could see the large barn up ahead. Using the stealth of the darkness that the fire provided them with the small group of four managed to quietly surround the front and back entrances. Sanji and Kazuo took one side and Luffy and Robin took the other. There were eight guards in total. Robin managed to silence a few of them with her arms, knocking them out and tying them up. Luffy used his elasticity to wrap around the remaining on their side and squeeze the air out of them silently before moving on to open the doors ahead. On Sanji's side it was a little noisier but luckily they were able to keep from allowing an alarm to be alerted. Several flying kicks and a couple of hits on the back of the head from a shovel meant their enemies were knocked out reasonably quickly.
"This place is pretty packed" Sanji commented as they entered the barn. It was laid out inside like some kind of warehouse and he had to be impressed with the organisation of it all. Meats were kept separate from other food sources and dairy was stored in the coolest part of the place. He watched as his captain helped himself to a few things and pocketed some extra cooked meat as a precaution before heading back out of the door. "Hey where are you going?" he asked his captain as he reached the entrance. Luffy's body was shaded as the fire in the distance shone brightly around him like a silhouette.
Luffy paused and stopped to turn around and look at his friend "Their distraction won't last forever and because of it the guards will be on higher alert…we don't have time to waste. We need the medicine" he explained. Sanji gritted his teeth. He knew he was right but this would mean that they would have to split up and he didn't like that idea one bit.
Robin approached her captain, "I will come with you" she stated. After all she was the only one that knew what was needed and what different herbs looked like. The thought of Robin walking into the lions den and ending up like Nami made Sanji's stomach churn. If she got caught it would be more than a beating she would receive for the pure fact she was a woman.
"No I'll go" he stated firmly. He wasn't stupid and could follow a list with ease. He approached Robin's side and looked at her, his face softened a little. "You get this stuff back to the others" he ordered. Robin could see the concern in his face and realised that it was not a time to argue. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the list that Chopper had given to her. As she reached the note up to him he took it in his hand, brushing hers slightly as they touched.
"Be careful" Robin asked. Sanji smiled faintly and nodded, pocketing the piece of paper and turning to look at her once more. This time he wore a large smile that she knew was forced for her sake. He then turned to look at the boy behind him, "I need you to protect her" he ordered, "can you do that?" he asked. Kazuo glared at the two men for a moment, realising he was being asked to stay behind and not liking it. Then again as he looked at the beautiful woman that stood next to him he also knew that the blond man was giving him an important role. He would protect this woman on the condition that cook find his sister. It was an unspoken message and the boy nodded in understanding. In that moment Luffy and Sanji ran off towards the main factory.
…..
Nami continued to fill Zoro in on the horrors of her past. Her explanation was sketchy at times as she jumped back and forth from one memory to the next in no chronological order, but nevertheless he was able to join the dots and bit by bit drew a nightmare up in his mind.
"Haru was adamant that we were hiding something and wanted to know where the rest of you were and kept demanding to know the purpose of 'D'…" Nami's grip on his top tightened and he felt her head shake, "but it was clear that no matter what we said he was going to make up any excuse to get what he wanted." She paused, trying to regain her composure. This was proving harder than she realised. She didn't know why in that moment she had decided to open up to him but she did and once she had started her mouth struggled to close but at the same time carefully selected what to share and what to hold back.
"There are a lot of people wanting to know who the people with 'D' in their names are and their purpose" Zoro spoke up after several moments of silence. She felt his hands on top of hers as they gripped his waist. His voice was soothing on her soul and his touch helped keep her in reality. He had become almost like a drug or some kind of medicine that she couldn't stand to be without. "I know Robin is looking into it too…" Zoro added, "what ever it means it must be pretty important".
"Yeah" Nami whispered, "enough to kill over" she noted.
"Was that all he wanted?" Zoro asked, focussing their conversation.
"No" Nami replied, "it took me time to get information out of the other prisoners and some of the guards about what was really going on. I learnt that he had some kind of science lab where he experimented on human biology" she continued. "He apparently used children and babies as part of his experiments, injecting them with some kind of drug or altered DNA from various powerful people"
"Devil Fruit Users?" Zoro asked. He could feel Nami nod behind him.
"That's what I thought…the only problem for him was that neither of us had those. It didn't take long for them to figure out that our powers stemmed from our weapons and without them we were vulnerable" she commented. Her words were responded to with a pair of hands clasping her wrists and pulling them apart to allow Zoro space to move and half turn to look at her. Zoro's hands did not let her go and she felt the warmth and strength of his touch on her wrists.
"Nami, none of you are to blame for what happened" Zoro pointed out, suspecting the hinted tone in her voice at her own weakness.
Nami bit her lip and shook her head, "I know…it's not like that…it's just…" she struggled to explain and felt his hands moving to hers. The touch of his finger tips on the palm of her hands was almost electrifying. It was totally different to anything she had experienced before and gave her more courage. She looked him in the eye and her composure was found again, "our journey was supposed to be one where we could meet our dreams…when did it become a war?" she asked, "What are we getting ourselves into?"
Zoro knew that she was having doubts about everything and he couldn't blame her yet at the same time the thought of Nami giving up, backing off or going home was an option he didn't want to consider, as selfish as that was. "Nami…we knew when we started out this wouldn't be plain sailing" he pointed out, trying to be the voice of reason that she needed to hear, "and after we set the world governments flag on fire we knew it would only get harder from that point on" he continued. It was the same message he gave her that time in the kitchen but he went about it with a softer approach.
Nami cringed, suddenly feeling guilty and stupid for having her thoughts, "I know" she voiced, "I just wasn't expecting it to hurt this much" she finished. Zoro could feel her hands shaking and the question that he had wanted to ask for days now but was unable to breach finally came out of his mouth.
"Nami…what did he do to you?" he asked. She had explained to him the way the man known as Haru used imagery and trickery to make them feel safe and think they were escaping only to shatter their hopes and catch them again. She had described how he tortured and manipulated them and how he used other people against them, playing at their noble ways of trying to protect the weaker ones…but she didn't once go into any finer detail. He knew it was detail he didn't need to know but at the same time it was detail he needed to hear. Nami's eyes opened wide as she looked at him.
"You already know" she replied, clamming up and retracting her hands from his. If her miscarriage hadn't made it completely obvious she didn't know what else would and she immediately took offense to his words and put up a barrier. Zoro knew in that moment his hunch had been correct. Nami was holding too much in and keeping too much to herself. He didn't know if it was to protect him or her but either way he knew it wasn't healthy for her to retain it anymore. In order to move on she needed to talk about it but she was evidently unwilling to do so.
"I need to hear you say it" Zoro admitted, trying to coax more out of her.
"Why?" Nami asked, growing concerned at his prying questions.
"Nami…in order to start to move on from this you need to talk about it" Zoro remarked with a sigh.
Nami shuffled off the bed and walked to the other side of the room, "I have told you everything you need to know" she spat, her anger was beginning to boil and Zoro knew it was only a matter of time before it reached steaming point. This was for her own good and he hated to do it but if he didn't do it now then it would continue to slowly eat away at her and make her weaker. He rose from his position on the bed and stood a couple of steps away from her, watching her back.
"How many of them were there?" he asked again. Her body grew rigid. She remained silent and he continued to pry, "Where did they touch you?" he asked, "did they force you or did you go willingly into his arms and give him what he wanted due to his threats?" he knew the last question was below the belt but he needed her to open up and anger was the only way he knew how.
Nami span around and slapped him square on the face, the sting burned his skin but he did not flinch, "Why is it so important for you to know?!" she demanded, stepping in closer and pushing him backwards with force, "Do you like seeing me suffer?" she asked, "Do you have some kind of sick desire to picture what happened?" she pressed, "Do you want to hear how he forced himself on me and rammed his way home?" she snapped. Zoro could feel his own blood rising inside of him in guilt, disgust and anger but knew he had only brought it on himself. He had to force himself to listen.
"Shall I indulge you some more?" she growled, leaning into him, "like how he would restrain me so I couldn't move and breathe into my ear with his stale smell of liquor, or how he grabbed my breasts and bit down on me so hard I screamed out in pain" she continued, watching Zoro's face contort slightly. He had to use all of his strength to not respond. "I never once allowed him to touch me but I had no choice!" she snapped, "I was raped over and over again!" she yelled, "are you happy?" she asked, panting heavily. Zoro could feel blood lust rising within him and it took all of his mental energy to force it down and keep it at bay. Nami noticed the dark aura around him and the deep and dangerous silence he now gave off.
Horror filled her and she stepped away from him and ran a shaking hand through her own hair before looking at the scars around her wrist and holding onto it tightly with her hand. Her temper calmed a little and she went into a trance like state. For some reason she felt she had to continue telling him more and relive her nightmare, "He manipulated me and used the others…He wanted me for my intellect and navigation skills. He realised there was something about my body that allows me to feel the weather change in the atmosphere and he started doing tests on me. He then decided that he wanted to bear a strong child with me that he could train to do his bidding but his efforts were initially unsuccessful. The more I refused to give into his demands and try to divert the situation the more he tortured the others. He was bent on getting into our heads and breaking our spirits…he beat us at first and then healed us, taking us into a secure area and making us think we were safe. We learnt the hard way that no one could be trusted and everyone was our enemy… but I refused to give in, believing someone would come to our rescue, but I was foolish. We were puppets in his little play and he pulled at our strings." She lowered her hands and studied the ground. "The first time he raped me was in front of Usopp" she continued, unable to stop her thoughts from leaving her lips and no longer looking at the man next to her. She dreaded to see his response. "He forced me onto my knees as Usopp lay broken on the floor and unable to help. His men held him up and forced his eyelids open so he couldn't look away" her tone of voice had a monotone sound to it like she was reciting a script.
She took in a deep breathe and let it out again, calming her temper slightly, "Usopp cried and pleaded" she continued, "he kept apologising to me…I don't know why but I wished he didn't," she clenched her fists, remembering was hard. It now made sense to Zoro though, why she had not visited the sharpshooter since their return to the ship. "It hurt…but I refused to cry out…I wouldn't give him the satisfaction!" she almost felt a little pride in that fact. It was the only thing that saved her. "He beat me and healed me then tried again…he liked forcing me to feel the same pain every time as if it was my first time". She paused and the silence in the room felt like a weight on her shoulders. She held an arm with her hand and Zoro noticed her body had stopped shaking and her eyes stared at nothing.
"Then he gave me to the guards and they did it in front of Franky" she remarked. "Franky managed to break free from his chains and took some of the men down before they could touch me, but they managed to catch him and wrapped chains around his limps, pulling him tight and stretching him, he screamed out in pain and they laughed. I tried to stop them, but without my climatact I was weak and they took advantage of that." She continued; "The more I resisted the more pain they delivered, ripping him apart until I couldn't bear it anymore" tears fell from her eyes, "so you see, you can't say it isn't my fault" she stated, turning to look out of the window and the night sky, purposely avoiding Zoro's dark gaze.
She let out another deep breathe and continued talking; "Eventually they realised that having us in the same room wasn't effective enough as we fed off each others strength and silently urged one another on…so they broke us apart, using nothing but the sounds of screams to try to break us…what they didn't realise though was the screaming had become a way for us to communicate we were still alive. That in it self made us strive to keep on living" she stated clearly. Zoro recalled how he and the other two had found the three of them in separate cells but within reasonable location to one another and it made sense.
"Haru eventually had too much to do and went off on some kind of mission, leaving the guards to do as they pleased. Pretty soon the process of healing us in between stopped and they continued to exert their wrath and power over us repeatedly…" she finished. There was more detail she could have given him but she chose that was enough and she swallowed, feeling the dry pain in her throat.
"Nami" Zoro's voice had a dark and serious undertone to it. "Can you remember their faces?" he asked. She was surprised by his comment and turned to look up at him. His stare was intense and he did not avoid eye contact with her, reading all of her subtle movements. She was unable to speak and just nodded. It wasn't something she could easily forget. "If we see them again I want you to point every one of them out to me" he ordered. She opened her mouth to ask why and then clamed it shut again. It was a stupid question, even an idiot could tell from the aura this man was producing at that moment that he was ready to kill.
…..
Robin's gaze moved from where the men had run from and back to the boy behind her then over to the food supply. She went to pick up the handle of the cart but Kazuo got there before her, "allow me" he stated with a grin. She nodded and smiled back at him. Sanji had left the boy to help her but she knew he was just keeping him out of danger. If anything she was his body guard, but she dared not to say anything to him about it. Instead the main focus right now was how they would get this large item to the ship un noticed. As if reading her mind the young boy spoke up.
"There is a secret passageway underground" he pointed out. "Not many people know about it...the entrance was sealed years ago" he explained.
"So how do you know about it?" Robin asked.
"I fell into a well when I was a kid" Kazuo replied, "it opened up into a large cave and I managed to explore it a little before my old man found me"
"Where is this well?" Robin asked. Kazuo smiled.
"It doesn't exist any more…the adults caved it in as they felt it was too dangerous" he explained, "and that was before Haru and his men came along"
"So they do not know about this cave?" Robin asked, "What makes you so sure?"
Kazuo grinned, " 'cause I still visit it from time to time" he replied.
…..
"Arrrghhh" a man's voice croaked as Sanji kicked his face in and sent him into the wall beyond. He heard the sound of gunshots and turned to see his captain bouncing the bullets back at the men attacking him, forcing them to fall where they stood and surrounding them in pools of blood.
"We have to hurry, they are cottoning on to the fact this is a ruse" Sanji remarked, entering the building and leading the way. Their stealth mission was a failure the moment they set foot in the factory grounds. This place was far more heavily guarded than the barns and fields were.
Upon entering the building through the side door Sanji placed his back against the wall and listened for movement around the corner. He heard the sound of footsteps and several male voices echoing down the hall. Movement to his side made him aware of Luffy moving on ahead of him. He watched in dismay as his captain stood at the base of the corridor and made his presence known to the enemy.
"Hey who the hell are you?" a voice yelled.
"So much for keeping this a stealth mission" Sanji sighed.
"Gum Gum" Luffy started, raising his arms up and twisting them together before pinging them out and blowing away the row of men before him. The sound of bodies crashing and bones crunching into solid walls and doors shook the room. Sanji pushed himself away from the wall he leant on and walked past his captain and up to the guards that lay on the ground.
"It won't be long before they set an alarm" he noted, "we need a disguise" he added, picking up one of the men by their clothing and examining him. An idea suddenly came to his mind. This way it would be easier to infiltrate the rest of the building and locate what they needed a lot faster. The man opened his eyes slower as he came around from being hit. They opened in horror and fear at the realisation he was looking at the grinning face of his enemy.
…..
Chopper left the room to get some fresh air and stretch out his limbs. He had managed to get some sleep but not for long. Lately he was unable to have a deep slumber due to his concerns over his friends and their wellbeing. That and the feeling he found hard to shake that they were far from fully escaping the clutches of the enemy that had captured and tortured the others.
A familiar smell caught his attention and he sniffed the air several times before recognising the scent. It was faint but there was no doubt about it, the smell of something burning filled his nostrils. He turned to look in the direction from where it was coming and caught a glimmer of light in the distance on the island ahead of them. "Oh No" he gasped, running to the side of the ship and trying to get a better look. Something was happening on land and his stomach wrenched at the knowledge that Luffy was most likely behind it. If they got caught things could get really bad. Panic rose in him and he spun around, running into the Skeleton.
"You noticed it too" the older man commented, appearing from the crows nest after seeing the flames for himself.
"What should we do?" Chopper asked, worried.
"I guess we must prepare ourselves for battle" the older man announced, or for the worst case scenario, he thought. Chopper's eyes widened in worry and he ran towards Nami's room and banged on the door.
"What is it?" the angry voice of the swordsman answered, pulling the door open and almost forcing Chopper to stumble. Chopper looked at the dark expression on the swordsman's face and vaguely noticed the pale shadow of Nami standing behind him in the darkness.
"There's trouble" Chopper finally breathed, pointing towards the island and catching the man's attention. He knew he had interrupted something but right there and then he didn't know what else to do. Zoro's expression changed slightly and seemed to be less dark and more focussed, he frowned at Chopper and stepped out of the room, approaching the Skeleton and looking out to the distance.
"Fire" Nami whispered. Chopper turned to look up at her. She wore a worried expression and seemed to be haunted. Her skin was pale and the moonlight made her seem ghost like. Yet for some reason he felt something had changed within her.
"What shall we do?" Chopper asked as he and the navigator joined the other's side. "They might be in trouble" he commented.
"Or it is part of their plan and they are making an escape" Zoro replied. Sanji and Robin were strong strategists and he had faith that they wouldn't be caught easily.
"Should we go to search for them?" Brook asked.
"No" Nami spoke up, causing the others to look her way, "splitting up is what he likes the most" she remarked. "It makes us weaker" she commented, "besides, if you go who will look after the Sunny? Without her we will have no means of escape." She walked up to the side of the ship and placed her hands on the railing as she looked out to the island and then to the ocean beyond.
"Do you sense something?" Zoro asked, watching her carefully. He understood the small motions she made and what they all meant. He had done for years. He had learnt a long time ago to trust Nami and her instincts and knowledge of the sea.
"We need to move the ship" she warned.
Chopper and Brook looked at each other and then the swordsman. It had been a long time since their navigator had given them any commands and they were bewildered by it.
"You heard her" Zoro commanded.
"Ay" Chopper replied.
"I will take the helm" Brook remarked with a slight bow. The three men continued to take their navigators orders in moving the ship to safety.
…
A/N: Well…it took me forever to write this chapter. Action scenes aren't my strongest point but I am trying to plan it carefully and not rush it. Nothing too disastrous has happened to Nami this time around but now Zoro has little more insight what will he do?
12
