Heart Breaker

Chapter 10: Yeah, It Was a Trap

"Does everyone else know about the storm?" I asked following Nami out of the large double doors of the library.

Looking behind me it was unnerving to see the outside of the grand library turn back into a dinky looking thatched roof house with a single broken looking door. I guess that is how they protected their treasure, with deception of some sort. I think it was kind of like Nami's mirage tempo but I don't really care enough to ask or look into it like Robin and Chopper had.

Nami paused to look over her shoulder at me. With an exaggerated eye roll she nodded and kept walking, motioning for me to follow her without saying a word. I scowled at her back, annoyed that she couldn't at least explain how everyone could possibly know. It had just been Chopper, Robin and I when she announced the storm, and from the one we had already experienced on this island I knew it could get violent. I glanced to the sky, surprised to see the few fluffy peaceful clouds from earlier had grown in size and were starting to turn dark gray. I wondered just how Luffy and the others were going to brace for the storm as my gaze turned back to Nami's swaying hips in front of me. I am willingly following her to my doom, I thought with a cringe.

I can't even begin to describe the feeling of dread that seemed to form in the pit of my stomach. I would rather do anything else than go shopping, especially shopping with Nami. Although the eye candy part wouldn't be too bad, I still would be sitting around waiting and watching her pick out things that I would rather cut to shreds than ever put on my body. She is going to ask me all these stupid questions on whether I liked something or not, or if I thought it is cute, and god knows what else. Then she is going to get pissed because I'm going to be brutally honest and tell her I think it is stupid, and then there goes more money out of my pocket, money that isn't even there to begin with… I felt a vein throb in my forehead at my thoughts and soon to be future.

"It's a reoccurring storm. It happens every day at the same time," Nami said pointing to the gathering clouds. "With this island's size the clouds have time to gather moisture and build over it, but the cliffs and shorelines on the other end of the island cause rough winds that blow the clouds back this way. It times it perfectly to just after 4 o'clock and then lightens up or stops around sunset," Nami continued explaining as if she could hear the worry for my friends that I had left unspoken. "We have been here for a week Zoro. We know how it works here," she reassured me.

Nami slowed so that she wasn't parading ahead of me so far and gripped my shirt as we neared the busier part of town again.

I glared at her in some defiance, because honestly she should trust me to be able to follow her through a crowd. Given my track record I don't understand why she always insists on keeping such a close eye on me. It isn't my fault no one has a sense of direction and always winds up splitting up. As if she could hear my thoughts she stuck her tongue out, before pushing me forward and guided me into the crowd. Apparently I was now her human shield as well as she steered me around people and towards the walkway.

I barely had time to apologize as I collided with some people on the street as Nami unrelentingly pushed us through the crowd. I settled on the best apologetic smile I could muster and pointing to Nami discreetly in blame when I got a few angry calls and glances at the contact and rude rush.

We passed the ruined building that had been the only freaking bar on this island. I gave it a forlorn glance, upset with my lack of restraint in the moment that had led to me cutting the entire building in half. Nami stopped shoving once we passed it, and let out a small breath.

"That was rather rude," I grumbled.

"Yes well it was better than getting stopped by Cas—"

"NAMMIII!"

For a moment I thought that Sasha had somehow aged, changed her hair color and was running after us. Nami's face dropped for a split second before turning into a small frown and a disapproving scowl.

"Cassie," Nami greeted, rather coolly as the woman approached.

She had a smaller chest, but her frame was very similar to Nami's. Her face looked like a duplicate of Sasha's with warm brown eyes and a very young looking face, while her hair was cut in a pixie style and was a deep purple color. She wore a black robe that only came down to her knees, and a small pointed hat rested on her scalp. She wore a lot of gaudy jewelry; there hardly seemed a place on her neck, fingers or wrists that wasn't covered in some type of glittering object.

Looking at the young woman I was only further confused by Nami's cold greeting. It seemed like she would have hit it off with this girl.

"Is this that Zoro guy?" Cassie purred.

Instantly my space was invaded, as the girl swooned and gripped my arm. She pressed my captured limb in between her breasts as she looked up at me with an expression that I could only peg as worried. I felt my cheeks flush. Unsure of how to react, I shot Nami a look that I knew screamed 'help me'. The navigator's lips twitched in amusement for a fraction of a second before her scowl returned.

"Yes," Nami hissed. "But unlike Sanji he isn't available to your every whim."

"Ohhh. That's right, Ariel shot him with that spell huh?" she said. Her eyes grew wide for a moment before she dropped my arm like she had been burned. "Don't want you to keel over. If the spell thinks that there could be any type of infidelity you'll get extremely sick," she explained at my lost look. Not that I have had any clue what has been going on today anyways.

"I would never cheat," I growled.

"So why aren't you at Ariel-sama's side?" she asked innocently her eyes glittering with some emotion that I couldn't quiet catch.

"Because he's mine," Nami said sharply with her hands on her hips as she glared pointedly at the little space between Cassie and me.

"I wonder how that happened…" Cassie mused. Her lips twitched as she glanced between the two of us. "You sure are attractive," she giggled to change the topic. "No wonder Sasha-chan has been so keen on you."

I felt my cheeks darken slightly at the mention of the younger sister, confirming my suspicion that she might have a crush on me. Not that, that was anything new. I just find it extremely awkward and I would have to find some way to let her down if she got any worse, she is a child after all.

"Because Zoro was probably the role model she needed at the time," Nami said hotly. "Zoro, let's go," she briskly snapped over her shoulder as she turned away from the girl.

I went to take a step forward but Cassie's hand shot around my arm and kept me in place. I could have easily pulled away, but something kept me glued to the spot. In fact, I felt like I could resist the spell for some reason. It wasn't hurting me to not go after Nami. There was no pain in my chest. My eyes widened slightly as I looked over at Cassie.

"Are you doing this?" I asked, speaking to her for the first time.

She gave me a mysterious wink, her grip tightening slightly. "Nami-san might not approve of me and my ways, but I do have canceling magic to Ariel's," she said lowly, so lowly that I'm sure Nami missed it and only I caught it. I frowned.

"Do you want to find out more, Zoro-kun?" she purred, leaning up to brush a strand of hair off my ear. I found myself nodding before I could stop. Her face lit up in glee. "I can help. You guys don't have to go on some suicide mission to the cliffs. Your doctor won't find anything in the market," she said quickly turning to Nami, whose face had darkened into an almost purple hue.

"No thank you. We can handle it ourselves," Nami practically growled. Her teeth were grinding together.

"In that case…" the girl giggled and dropped my arm, taking a small step back. "Where are you guys heading?" she asked Nami.

Cassie's arm shot out and pulled my arm so that I stood closer to her. It threw me off balance causing me to stumble slightly, since I hadn't been expecting her to grab me again after letting me go. My hands reached out to stabilize myself and I found myself holding her hips, before I quickly dropped them back to my side. I shot her a glare, not really enjoying how pushy she was being with me, and annoyed that Nami hadn't yet stopped her despite her obvious displeasure. I hated when girls tried cheap tricks like that to lower a guy's guard.

"Back to the ship," Nami said curtly. "We were about to relieve Brook from guard duty."

"Oh that creepy skeleton guy?" Cassie asked.

I felt her shiver, and tried to fight the blush that wanted to taint my cheeks at the proximity between us. Nami's eyes narrowed before she took a step forward and looped her arm around my free one. I half wondered why she was lying through her teeth but the other half of me was thankful that she was, as I wasn't really sure what the hell to do to get away from this girl.

"That's the one. Now if you don't mind—"

"But Nami-san, I want to repay you for saving my life. I was gonna give you at least half of the store's new clothing line. You'd look so cute in that sundress…" Cassie protested with a sigh.

Nami, who had been starting to vigorously pull me away from the girl, froze in place. Her posture twitched before she gave me another tug and pulled me from Cassie's grip.

"Maybe tomorrow, Cassie. I'll stop by with Robin," Nami promised. Nami gave me another tug and we started walking away, Cassie waving gently behind.

"Remember Zoro-kun, my offer still stands," she called after us, a sly smile in place, before turning and making her way in the opposite direction.

Nami was fuming beside me.

"Fucking women on this island. God damn witch just thinks she can run around and treat people like that. Offering me half of a cute clothing store… Like that will just make me give Zoro up like that for her sick twisted pleasure. Who the hell does she think she is?"

The obscenities continued, mostly to herself, until half way back to the ship she rounded on me. She had yet to drop my arm; our faces were rather close together as she leaned up to leer at me.

"And you! What the hell was that about?"

The demand in her voice had me compulsively replying before I could bit my tongue.

"She was neutralizing the spell somehow and said something about cancelling magic."

"NO… I mean…" Nami growled before taking a deep breath. "Never mind," she said flapping her hand. "Carry me back to the ship," she demanded before I could really even comprehend anything else.

"What? Why?" I growled slightly, taken back by the random mood change and how instantly her façade of being calm returned.

She didn't say anything at first. Her hands rubbed together in a malicious, gleeful way that had me shuddering. "Because I'm tired," she said simply, her tone becoming smooth and sweet like silk as she took a step forward. I instinctually took a step back knowing that look spelled nothing but trouble for me. Nami's face pulled into a pout.

"You have two feet. Use them," I barked.

Despite my words I took a step closer and scooped her into my arms, the spell compelling me to obey her with a sharp twinge in my chest. Our faces were close again, and this time I found heat rising to my cheeks at our proximity.

"Zoro-kun," she purred in teasing protest, reminding me of that girl from earlier. I frowned.

"Don't use honorifics with me."

At that she laughed and wiggled away from me. She took a seat beside the road and patted the ground next to her; the calm façade disappeared as she did so. But this time she kept it to herself as she fumed at her surroundings silently. Timidly I tuckered down next to her, careful to keep a little space between us in case she changed her mind and randomly hit me upside the head for some reason.

She didn't say anything for a while as I sat beside her; both of us lost in our thoughts, as the storm brewed and started to rumble above us.

"She owns a clothing shop in town," Nami started slowly, hesitantly. "I was trying to lead us past her store without her noticing and get to the one down the street. She annoys me," she said bluntly, her cheeks flushing as a few drops of rain started to fall around us. One splashed on her cheeks, but it stayed posed there, like a frozen tear. I nodded thoughtfully.

I was intrigued to say the least. Ariel had thought that Cassie was dead, so naturally she would assume that my other hope for an antidote was gone with it. It was unclear how much that woman even knew about the plant that could 'cure' me, seeing as she had said there was a patch of plants in her herb garden that could help soothe my symptoms and the book clearly stated that it only grew on cliffs and hillsides. As intrigued as I was, I had an uneasy feeling from Cassie as well and that was just from our short meeting, there was something with the way she presented herself that was just off. I couldn't figure out how she knew that Chopper was looking for the plant at the market all by himself, unless she had seen him before she had found us.

"She's fine when none of our male crew members are around—I just—ugh," Nami stopped and glared hard at the water that was slowly starting to drip faster and faster around us.

I felt the need to comfort her then. As a friend and nothing more… although the spell had little pull over me today so far, I could start to feel it worming its presence back into my psyche. Well I can at least say that it is me acting and not the spell. I hated seeing anyone in our crew so uncomfortable. I know it is jealousy, that Nami didn't approve of some other girl being able to have power over her friends and crewmates, but I still didn't want her to feel that. Without really thinking I reached out and pulled her to my chest. Nami froze in my arms before relaxing. We stayed under a tree during the thunderstorm until finally the weather began to clear. The gentle patter of the rain on us and around us almost had me dozing off. The calm I had felt earlier returned, as I squeezed Nami to my chest a little more. Her body was soft, and her hair was cold and wet as it brushed against my cheek. We were both soaked to the bone, but I felt refreshed from the rain. I looked down at the girl in my arms and felt a swell of affection.

Her cheeks were pale from the cold rain, but she still had a rosy glow about her. Her eyes were shut and her breathing was calm and even. She looked serene and peaceful, her hands had even relaxed and rested on either side of my chest. She looked so damn cute, I felt an instinct I had always been good at suppressing surge forward, and for once I didn't fight it. I bent down slowly, my breath ghosted her forehead and I let my lips linger on her skin for a moment. My heart thumped loudly in my chest, I was surprised that she didn't start yelling at me for crossing lines again, before I slowly pulled away.

It took me a moment to realize that she was actually sleeping in my arms and that she was cold, wet, and probably, definitely shouldn't be sitting out here with me as the sun began to set. I didn't want her to get sick. Cautiously I managed to maneuver her into my arms so that I was holding her bridal style and stood as smoothly as I could. Following the road I made it back to the ship.

Apparently we were the first ones back, but that didn't mean I didn't bump into Franky and Brook who were securing things around the ship.

"How romantic~" Brook chirped when he finally spotted us.

I blushed. "Shut up," I growled before making my way towards the women's cabin.

"Franky, call your Goth woman and tell her to get back so she can get Nami out of these clothes."

"Don't you want to take her out of her clothes?" Franky asked with a devious grin.

'Yes,' I thought, but now was hardly appropriate. I settled on glaring at the older man. "Just call her," I snapped before kicking their door open.

I settled her on the bed, before digging around the room and finding a towel. I started with her hair first, wrapping the wet stuff in the fluffy warmth the towel offered, in the best mimic I could manage. It was that swirling thing, I have seen her do it hundreds of times, but I'm not quite sure if I got it right. Shrugging I grabbed another towel and started drying her elsewhere.

I toweled her off as gently as I could, and I was starting to get worried that she was so still. I was about to call Franky and tell him to call Chopper on the Den Den Mushi when Robin calmly entered the room.

"Could you uhh… help?" I asked staring at the other woman. Her eyes held a knowing glance as she entered. She let out a breezy chuckle.

"I swear Zoro, only you can get Nami to sleep like this," she teased as she tugged off Nami's shirt.

I wish she would have warned me, I coughed and turned away from the scene. It isn't like I haven't seen more of the navigator before, but this was definitely a moment where I know the girl didn't want me to see her.

"I thought you two were going shopping?" Robin questioned. I could hear a gentle plop of wet clothing smacking the floor, and knew it was probably still not safe to turn around.

"We ran into Sasha's sister," I grumbled. "Nami had a little hissy fit and we got caught out in the storm. We waited it out under a tree and then I carried her back here."

I just explained our day in three sentences. I think that is a new record for me. Robin chuckled again.

"Cassie can be a bit much, but she means well. She really likes Nami a lot," Robin commented.

"Well Nami did save her life and watch her sister for her," I remembered.

I snuck a peek under my arm, snapping my head up quickly and fighting a blush at the image I had just seen. I don't need to go into details about that, but it is taking nearly everything I have in me to not turn around again. The spell made it harder to resist, my body even twitched slightly, but I managed to keep my place.

"There," the archeologist breathed securing a shirt on Nami and guiding the young girl back to her pillow. "You should keep an eye on her and keep her warm. I hope that she didn't catch a cold in the storm," Robin mused. An extra hand sprouted out and pushed me towards the bed. "Just to be on the safe side you should probably sleep next to her. The extra body heat will help."

"Where are you going?" I sputtered as a few more hands sprouted out and shoved me into the bed. Robin was walking towards the door, a sly smile in place.

"I'm just going to go read a bit. I'll come bring you guys some dinner when Sanji gets back, and have Chopper check on her when he gets here."

Just like that I was next to the navigator again, my heart thundered in my chest and my breath was short. My mind was racing and begging me to bend down and kiss the top of her head like I had just done not too long ago. However, I knew I had little control right now; I merely sat beside her, my hand shook as I took her hand in mine. I stared hard at the wall, fighting the urges of the spell and swallowing at the images my mind started to conjure up of things we could do in her bed alone…

"Mmm… Zoro?" Nami's voice broke through my thoughts. I glanced down. Her eyes were barely open as she gave me a sleepy yet happy grin. She looked a little confused, and I know she is wondering exactly what happened for us to wind up in her room.

"I brought you back here," I told her answering her unspoken question. She nodded and squeezed my hand. She started to doze off again but something made me shake her slightly to keep her awake.

"Nami?"

Her eyes fluttered open to give me a curious gaze.

I bent down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. Her lips were soft, like silk. I felt something in the pit of my stomach seem to explode in nerves as I laced my free hand into her hair. Her eyes shut as she let out a sigh of content. It was a feather kiss. Our lips were barely touching, yet I felt a pleasant jolt run up and down my spine at the contact. I pulled away after a fraction of a second. Very aware that I had just done that; that I did that. Not the spell. That urge had been all my own. I didn't even bother fighting the blush in my cheeks because Nami's eyes stayed shut. There was a blush on her as well, and a small shy smile tugged at her lips. She looked so beautiful, but she hadn't responded well the last time I had told her that so I kept the thought to myself. I was hovering above her, and I knew she was still awake. I felt like I had to answer something that she had said much earlier that day when we were with Cassie, when she had practically declared ownership of me.

"You're mine too."

A/N: Last update for a little bit, at least the next few weeks (possibly longer). School is getting insane... I'll try writing some more soon but my first mate (who happens to be my beta) and I have both been swamped lately. I hope you guys will give us some patience for our stories and updates. :p Until next time~