Chapter 10: Vanish

The next ten minutes or so, the two Strawhats looked over the balcony with a comfortable silence between them. Usopp sometimes pointed out a person he saw who was staggering around the streets drunk, mentioning that Zoro had more than likely drank all the rum on the Sunny now that Nami wasn't there to boss him around and Sanji was probably too heartbroken to care. This earned a chuckle from the navigator, though she mentally made a note to herself to check the drink supply when they were reunited with the rest of the crew.

Eventually Usopp let out a yawn and looked over at Nami with his eyes only halfway open. "I'm gonna go to bed. Are you coming?"

Although her eyes felt just as heavy, she found herself pushing her exhaustion aside and shaking her head. "Not yet. I want to enjoy the night air a little more before I go in. I shouldn't be much longer."

He nodded. "Alright, well good night then." Usopp slid the door open, entered into the room, and then shut the sliding door behind him.

Nami looked back towards the city, trying to focus on the lights and late night sounds, yet she found herself looking over her shoulder to watch him instead. He had barely crawled under the covers before he had his nose stuck up in the air and his eyes shut. She shook her head in disbelief. It was amazing how some men could enter Slumber Land with such ease.

It was as she was watching him that she suddenly realized she was smiling, and for some odd reason her cheeks felt incredibly warm. Quickly she spun her head around, and this time she forced herself to look up at the stars and inhale as much of the fresh air as possible to try and calm her racing heart and cool her heated face.

"What is happening to me?" she asked herself in a hushed whisper, feeling weak and a little terrified. Nami felt so confused and lost and she wished with all her heart that Robin was here to help her out because at the moment there was a thought running through her head and it truly scared her.

"When did Usopp become beautiful?"

A couple weeks ago, if she'd been asked which of the Straw Hats she could possibly see herself developing feelings for in the future, she probably would've shrugged and said none of them because they just felt like a giant family. However, if she had to choose she would've narrowed it down to Sanji, Zoro, or Luffy.

Sanji was not only charming and handsome, but he had strong legs that could shatter bones and split rocks in half. To top it all off, he was a gentleman and master chef; a pretty impressive combination to be found in a man.

Zoro was also very good looking, and definitely the most muscular one of all the Straw Hats. He'd protected Nami so many times, and he made them all feel safe. He was also very loyal, especially to Luffy. Watching him fight in battle was like watching a beautiful exotic dance with swords that left one feeling captivated and breathless by the sheer power he displayed.

And then there was Luffy, who Nami and everybody else in their crew fully believed would be the next King of the Pirates. Even though he was quite possibly the biggest idiot she'd ever met, he had a heart of gold and was so passionate. He lived life with a smile on his face and his head held high, and was an exceptional fighter. Nami trusted him with her life.

However, even with those handsome men surrounding her, Nami couldn't help but feel like Usopp was the most beautiful one. His beauty had nothing to do with looks, as his nose was three times the length of a normal one, and his lips were thick and almost clown-like. He hardly had any muscle on his body, and usually in battle he would run away and hide behind somebody else.

No, what made Usopp recently look even more beautiful to her was the fact that he could break down all of her walls. She could share her pain with him, and sob against his chest or on his shoulder without feeling like a coward because he understood. He was the one who had given her a weapon based on her talent to predict the weather and even control it just so she wouldn't feel weak and could contribute to battle. When she felt lost or scared Usopp was usually with her. He didn't bother trying to cover up his fear with her, and it was truly a relief to know that powerful opponents or situations that seemed hopeless freaked her out just as much as him. He could put up with her in ways nobody else could, and wasn't afraid to speak his mind to her when he actually disagreed with something she said.

Most importantly he forced himself to be brave and fight for what he believed was right or if his friends needed him. Nami remembered watching Usopp fight Shiki for her, and even yelling at her to not give up and enslave herself to Shiki just for the Straw Hats while he'd been trapped and helpless inside a giant pillar made of dirt and rocks. She also remembered the first time she'd met him, when he'd had almost no fighting experience and cried and begged for his village to be spared. He continued to try and fight even as he repeatedly fell and grew more injured with every hit. Nami had gained a lot of respect for him at that point, and it only continued to grow with each new adventure the Straw Hats went on.

Tonight, however, the gratitude she felt for him had skyrocketed, for he had shown her what true freedom felt like. She looked up at the starry sky and remembered how it had felt to feel so high above everything else, with nothing around her but light years of stars and the gentle night breeze. She'd almost felt invincible, and Usopp was the first person to make her feel that way.

With a yawn she realized that she herself should probably head to bed. With one more longing look at the night sky she quietly walked back into the room and took her place on the other side of the bed. She slipped beneath the covers and lay on her side so she was facing him. He was quietly snoring, with a little line of drool already descending over his lips. She sighed but smiled before closing her eyes and descending into the most peaceful sleep she'd had in years.

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He hated when his bladder woke him up, especially when he'd been sleeping so well.

With a grunt he forced his eyes open, trying to blink away the exhaustion. Usopp tried to lift his left arm so he could wipe the sleep dust out of his eyes, but found a heavy weight lying on top of it. He looked down and was surprised to see that this time, Nami was the one sleeping on him. Her forehead was pressed against his shoulder, and her left arm was sprawled out across his stomach. He smiled and carefully eased himself out of her grip so he didn't disturb her, and quietly made his way to the bathroom, smirking all along the way. She'd threatened him for invading her personal space only the morning before, yet she was doing the same thing now. He chuckled at the irony and entered the bathroom.

When he had finished taking care of his business, he returned to find Nami stirring slowly from her sleep and stretching out on her back with a yawn. She rolled her head over so she was facing him, raising a brow when he started chuckling. "What?" she sleepily asked.

Usopp shook his head and sat at the foot of the bed, his legs tucked into each other as he leaned backwards and used his arms to support his weight. "You should've just seen yourself. You were clinging onto me and sleeping like a little princess. It was so precious!"

Nami's face grew heated. She grabbed one of the pillows from behind her and threw it right at his face. He surprised her by catching it and waving a finger. "Tsk, tsk. You have become too predicta-oomph!" The sharpshooter fell off the bed as another pillow was thrown right at his face, this time reaching its mark.

"See what happens when you get too cocky?" the orange-haired woman teased before she stuck her tongue and reached into a nearby bag. She grabbed a small pile of clothes and went to the bathroom, giving Usopp's foot a playful kick along the way. "Hey, let's go swimming today after breakfast. I'll shower after."

He grunted as he rubbed his head. Quickly he sat up and catapulted the pillow that had hit him at the door, smiling as he heard her giggling from inside.

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Finding the pool was rather easy. It ended up being only right down the hall from the dining room, and there were signs plastered on the walls pointing towards it. The entrance to the pool was two white doors with three large rectangular windows vertically centered and golden door knobs. When Nami and Usopp entered the area, they were met with a sudden increase in temperature and a strong smell of chlorine. Directly in front of them was a vast rectangular pool that had a ladder on both sides and three diving boards at the end. The black letters plastered just above the water line along the pool's walls indicated that the deepest it went was eight feet.

There was another pool in the back, but it was much shallower and smaller, with a net right above the center of it in case friends wanted to play water volleyball. In the opposite back corner were three circular hot tubs that beckoned anybody to come and relax in their waters that were so hot steam was rising out.

Much to Nami's pleasure, the pool was practically empty, with only two girls lounging in one of the many chairs around the pool. It was quiet, with the only sounds being the bubbling of the hot tubs and the girls' quiet chattering.

"This way Usopp!" she excitedly beckoned to her friend as she took off towards a set of empty lounge chairs. She laid one of the hotel room's towels on it and slipped her black sandals off as she lifted her plain blue sundress over her head, revealing a peach colored bikini that left very little to the imagination. She practically ran over to the diving board and climbed up. As Nami stood at the top preparing to take off, she looked over at Usopp, who had been watching her in stunned silence the entire time. "What are you waiting for? You will be swimming with me." She said it in a tone that left no argument.

With a quick shake of his head, he followed her example, shedding his clothes until he was standing barefoot and exposed in his swimming trunks. He headed towards the diving boards as well, stepping away from the side of the pool to avoid being splashed as Nami gracefully dived in. All he could think about as he ascended up the ladder was how Nami suddenly looked breathtaking to him. He'd seen her walking around the ship several times wearing almost nothing, yet for some reason he was now finding himself captivated by her. They'd been friends for a while, so why they were somehow growing closer after only a few days on an island alone made almost no sense to him.

He decided to push the confusing thoughts out of his head and instead focus on enjoying swimming. With a deep breath, he took off on the diving board with a mighty yell, drawing the attention of both Nami and the two relaxing girls. Unfortunately, his dive didn't turn out to be as majestic as he'd hoped, as he ended up slipping at the last minute and belly flopping right into the water below with a painful smack, earning giggles from the girls and a sharp intake of breath from Nami.

He rose back up with his face in the water; his eyes squeezed shut as he wrapped his hands over his stomach and gurgled out a yelp of pain. Nami rolled her eyes and swam to him, turning him over so his face was now upwards.

"Stop being a baby. You deal with worse from me," she pointed out as she grabbed him by the arm and swam them both over to the shallow end of the pool while he still floated on his back. When they reached the end of the pool she began to help him out.

"Have you ever seen a nose that long?"

"I can't believe she's hanging out with him."

"Looks like an idiot."

Nami felt her rage building up as she overheard the two girls giggling and talking to each other. She hated stuck up people like that, and what was worse was that Usopp could hear them. He had his eyes downcast and looked embarrassed, and judging by the way he looked up at her with eyes that read "just ignore it", he knew that she could hear them as well. Unfortunately, Nami wasn't the type to put up with her friends being hurt, so she wasn't going to listen to his silent pleas. She forced a smile on her face as she let go of his arm and walked over to the two girls, who had stopped talking at her approach.

"Hi girls, how are you doing today?" she asked in her sweetest voice.

The girl on the right had hazel eyes and short black hair that went down to only her earlobes, while her friend had long blonde hair and green eyes. The blonde smiled and leaned back. "Pretty good. How about you and your…friend?" She raised an eyebrow as she looked over at Usopp like he was a disgusting bug. Her friend smirked, making Nami want to punch both of their lights out. Instead she stood straight and beamed proudly.

"Oh, you mean my boyfriend?"

The girls looked like they were going to choke on their tongues, and Usopp's mouth dropped open.

"Your boyfriend? The black haired girl looked completely startled. "Well, uh, that's cute, I suppose."

"Isn't it? I love him to death, and would do anything for him!" Nami suddenly leaned in and gave the girls such a glare that they had goose bumps crawling all over their skin. "So if I hear you talking crap about him one more time, I'll make your life a living Hell, understand? My captain is Straw Hat Luffy, and I just happen to be his navigator." The girls looked like they had seen a ghost. Quickly they grabbed their stuff and ran out of the room, with Nami waving behind them.

"So, your boyfriend huh? That's the best you could come up with?" She turned around and saw Usopp standing shyly behind her. "You didn't have to do that, you know. I'm used to being made fun of, especially because of my nose." He poked the long facial feature and smiled. "I'm rather proud of it."

Nami walked over to him and playfully flicked the end of his nose. "Yeah, yeah, I know." She grabbed his hand and began pulling him towards the back of the room. "Let's go boyfriend; I feel like kicking your butt in volleyball."

His face grew red as she clutched his hand, but then he got a hold of himself and grinned. "Challenge accepted."

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The rest of the morning and half of the afternoon was spent around the pool. They played a few games of volleyball, with Nami dominating two rounds and Usopp barely winning one. When they were done playing they relaxed in the hot tub for a while, and ended up talking about the things they loved. Usopp told her about some inventions he had planned for when they arrived back on the ship, and she helped by giving him ideas, specifically ones that would keep the kitchen safe from Luffy's prowling fingers. They predicted what the crew was up to, and how Sanji was probably unable to sleep because of how worried he was about Nami, just like when Shiki separated them. Nami felt a little guilty because she knew Usopp was right; here they were enjoying the hot tub while Sanji and the others were more than likely worried sick. There wasn't anything that could be done about it though, so they switched topics and tried to focus on the fun they were having.

They ended up swimming in the pool again, and Nami gave Usopp pointers on how to dive. Eventually he got the hang of it, and proved to be a quick learner, just like when she'd shown him how to dance. At last, when a few more people started to arrive and their fingers had grown wrinkled and their stomachs sore from laughing, the two Strawhats decided that they'd had enough of swimming for the day.

"The locker room has a shampoo and soap dispenser inside, so I'll just shower in there, "Usopp offered as he emerged from the men's locker room after using the bathroom.

Nami nodded and wrapped her now drenched towel around herself to prevent her dripping hair from making a mess on the floor. "Alright, I'll see you upstairs then, boyfriend." She winked and burst out laughing as Usopp made a flustered face. She headed towards the elevator and back up to their room. She laid her bikini and towel on the sink's counter and turned on the shower. As the hot water poured over her body, she found herself humming. It was strange how happy she'd been recently, and even stranger that Usopp was the cause of it. She pressed her forehead against the shower's wall and closed her eyes, wondering if maybe there was a reason for it.

"Is it because I…I…" she looked up at the ceiling, unsure if she could even finish the sentence. "Belle-Mere, what do I do?" Nami whispered, though she knew she wouldn't get a response. With a sigh she finished scrubbing her hair and body and turned the water off. She quickly dried off and brushed the tangles out of her hair before stepping back into her dress and slipping her shoes back on. She then opened the bathroom door.

"GRAB HER!"

Before she could even process what was happening, a group of strong hands grabbed her arms and bound them together behind her back, her wrists trapped beneath the cold medal of handcuffs. Another hand pushed itself in front of her mouth, causing her to inhale something that made her sleepy.

"Yup, this is the one alri…" the deep voice speaking seemed dissipate. As her eyelids began to slide shut she saw the familiar white clothing of the Marines, and then everything became dark.

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Usopp stood in the elevator, feeling rather cheerful and smiling to himself. He felt rather happy, and he was sure it had to do with the night before and the fun day he'd just had. He and Nami were really close now, and he was enjoying the fact that they were still getting to know each other and make each other laugh even after all this time together. He was actually looking forward to having dinner with her tonight, and maybe every night in the future. Even though she'd been lying earlier for his sake, he still couldn't help but feel a small burst of happiness when she'd referred to him as her boyfriend, and it got him thinking to what life would actually be like if they were dating. Of course, both of them would have to have feelings for each other first, and he was still trying to get his thoughts and feelings in order. He bit his lower lip though when he realized that there was a very good chance that she wouldn't feel anything for him. After all, those two girls from earlier were right; he knew he wasn't as attractive as the other men on their crew, and he could be rather idiotic at times. He also knew that he was a coward, and wasn't the best fighter, so his chances with Nami didn't seem very high.

However, he'd seen the way she'd looked at him the night before as they'd danced, and she'd thrown herself into his arms when he'd taken her flying across the midnight sky. She'd confided to him about things she'd never told anybody else, and he'd seen a side of her that nobody else on the crew had seen before. Suddenly, his chances didn't seem so low, and he couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face as the elevator doors slid open.

As he neared their hotel room though, the smile dropped from his face. Their door was wide open and hanging off of its hinges. Heart pounding, he ran inside and saw that almost everything had been torn apart. Their bed sheets and clothes lay strewn in piles across the floor, the sliding door was open and all table drawers were pulled out, some with so much force that they were on the ground. He looked in the bathroom and saw Nami's bikini and towel spread out on the counter. The light was still on and the vent was running.

He shakily walked towards the bed and fell on his knees, his mouth open in disbelief. "What happened? Where was she? Who took her? Was she okay?" Question after question popped in his mind, and he didn't have a single answer to any of them. He didn't know if she'd escaped from the intruders who broke into their room, or if she'd forcefully been taken, but he wasn't going to not do anything about it. He ran towards the balcony, and saw only the energetic city below. Panting with panic, he sped out of the room and down the stairs until he reached the lobby. He looked over at the desk and saw the same mustached man standing there from the first day. He sprinted towards the desk and leaned over it, while the man across sighed.

"Please do no ru-"

"Have you seen Nami, my friend with the orange hair?! Somebody broke into our room and she is gone!"

The man frowned. "Young man, you should be more careful with the friends you pick. Were you even aware that she was a pirate? The Marines were given a tip about her and came to arrest her. She's probably at their base at the North end of town."

The room seemed to grow cold, and the only sound he heard was his heart pounding in his ears. The Marines had taken her?! How did they find out about her, and how was he still safe? Without a word he sprang out into the street, not apologizing as he pushed his way through crowds of people and nearly knocked some of them over. The sky overheard suddenly grew dark, and a rumble of thunder cackled along the gray clouds. As rain began to fall and the streets cleared, he pushed himself to run even faster, uncaring about the cold rain that bit into his skin and how his legs and lungs burned from exhaustion. He had to get to her, and that was all the mattered.

He eventually came across two large iron gates that loomed over him. He looked through the thick bars of the gate and saw a long path lined with Marines, all guarding the way to the entrance of an enormous blue and white building, which he could only assume was their headquarters on this island. He stumbled backwards to the other side of the streets and collapsed onto his rear, his head hung low. A rain drop slid down his nose and into a puddle below, where he saw his reflection and how pathetic he looked. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to try and slow his racing heart.

Usually, Sanji, Zoro or Luffy were the ones who did the rescuing. They were the strong ones that everybody was afraid of, but he was a coward who hid and couldn't break a block of wood with his fist if he tried. But he was also loyal to his friends, and he wasn't going to leave Nami alone. She needed him, and he wasn't going to let her down. It was time for him to step up and be a Straw Hat, just like he had at Enies Lobby.

An idea entered his head. It wasn't the most logical one, but it might just work. His brows furrowed as he looked threateningly over at the Marine base and stood up with his fists clenched. They had taken his best friend, and he was going to make them pay.