Ch 11 - The Fear of Swimming

Nana walked back to the train car with Luffy and Zoro. The train had enough steam for her to leave it running for at least another 20 minutes; 10 minutes if they ran into another big wave again.

"Hey, swordsman…" she called to Zoro, who was walking in front of her.

"Yah?"

"It sounds like your katanas need some sharpening. When this is all over, I can give it a look if you want."

"What do you know about katanas or how to care for them?" Zoro asked incredulously.

Nana lifted her hammer for emphasis but his back was turned so it was a pointless effort. "I'm a blacksmith! I can't be called a weapons expert if I don't even know how to make a sword. Now do you want me to take a look at it later or what?"

"I-" Zoro was about to shoot an angry retort but then he rethought her offer. "Fine. You can take a look at it but you can't do anything to them. Just...tell me what I need to do."

"Fine," Nana said, "As long as you take good care of them. Don't want you mistreating those babies."

"They're not babies!" Zoro snapped as Luffy jumped into the train car sliding through the window.

"Whew! That was fun," the rubber man told the passengers excitedly.

He immediately got kicked hard in the back by Zoro, who decided to enter the same way. "Oh, sorry," he said half heartedly.

Bam!

Zoro flew forward as Nana swung in from behind. "Not sorry," she said with a grin. Pygmy ran up to her and wagged his red and white tail. She bent down and licked his nose. He did the same. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his soft, warm fur.

"Woof! Woof!"

"He said, 'Ah! You're so cold and wet!'"

Nana released her hold and frowned at Pygmy. "Selfish."

"Woof! Woof!"

"Not sorry," Chopper translated.

"Smartass," Nana scoffed but patted his head anyways.

"Luffy, come over here!" Nami called, interrupting Zoro from yelling at the mechanic.

Luffy stood up from the floor and made his way towards her with Zoro and Nana following behind. "Hmm?"

Nami raised a transponder snail towards her captain. It was already connected. "It's Sanji-kun," she said.

She used "kun" again...I wonder what their relationship is? Nana wondered with a fold of her arms. Then she scoffed at herself for even wondering that.

"Hey, is that you, Luffy?"

"Oh Sanji!" Luffy answered excitedly, "How's it going over there? Where's Robin?"

"Robin-chan is still in their custody," came the reply, "Nami-san just told me the reasons for her actions."

Robin...chan?, Nana thought and tilted her head to the side. It seems he only calls Nami by san…

"I see," Luffy said as he squatted down and lifted the snail closer to him, "Yeah..well..that's what's going on." He tilted his head up and let out a confident grin, "Go ahead and give them hell."

"Ehhhh?!" Nami and Chopper protested.

"Hey!" Zoro snapped, "Don't be reckless, Luffy! Tell him to wait until we catch up!" Zoro then turned his attention to the snail, "Oy, Cook! Can you hear me? There are crazy guys on that train so-"

"That's okay," Luffy interrupted. His face turned solemn as he looked at the swordsman, "Zoro...What would you do if it were you?...After hearing that Robin lied and was taken into custody in order to save us, could you just stay put? It's no use trying to stop him."

"You know me well," Sanji said through the snail and Nana could tell he was smiling, "Hey, Moss Head! Are you worried about me?"

Zoro reacted like someone had punched him in the gut. "Why would I be, you idiot?!" he yelled.

"Be careful," Nana found herself saying, "Lucci and Kaku are really strong even when they were posing as shipwrights. Kaku is really fast and Lucci is just overall a strong fighter."

"Ohhh, is that Nana-chan?!" Sanji's voice went up by an octave, "Ahhh don't you worry, my sweet beautiful angel. I will-"

"Oh shut up, you pervert cook," Zoro growled.

"Ow! Nana-brat-"

"Listen, shitty morimo," Sanji's shouted, cutting off Franky. His voice had grown stern and serious again, "After hearing what Robin-chan was thinking and now with the blessing of Nana-chan, even if the Captain orders me to stand down, nothing can stop me now!"

Catcha.

"Franky was with him," Nana gasped and looked over at Granny Kokoro for confirmation.

"Yes, that's a good sign," Granny Kokoro said with a smile.

"Idiot cook," Zoro grunted, "Hung up before we could get any more information."

"So...he's..the cook?" Nana asked, glancing over at Nami.

"Yeah," Nami said with a shrug, "And really into the ladies too. Don't put too much thought into his flirting. He doesn't mean any harm and you get used to it after awhile."

"Oh." So he treats all the girls like this...

"Luffy, we should get ready," Zoro said.

"Ah,' Luffy agreed.

Nana's eyes almost popped out of her head when Nami started to take off her clothes. Then she realized that Paulie and the other shipwrights were coming back into the room. She hurriedly rushed over to Nami. "Na-Na-Nami," she stammered, "You shouldn't change here. The guys-"

"There's no other car," Nami said without batting an eye and took off her top and bottoms, "They can just watch me change."

Nana turned towards the door in time to see the thunderstruck faces of the men. She raised her hammer at them, "Oy! What the hell are you looking at you perverts?!"

It was no use. The men were mesmerized and blood started to drip out of their nose. Only Zoro, Luffy, Chopper and Paulie were not affected. Zoro had just finished putting on a yellow shirt and was busy tying his swords to his side, Luffy was occupied with trying to jump on Pygmy's back after changing into a black pair of shorts, and Paulie was consciously looking away. Chopper was done changing and wore a pink long sleeved shirt but he was unaffected by Nami's nudity.

"Okay! Now I'm ready for battle!" Nami exclaimed once she finished tying off her bikini top, mini skirt, and slung a denim jacket over her shoulders. She looked over at the men, who were kneeling on the floor, weakened by the exorbitant amounts of blood loss. "What are you guys doing?"

"Don't 'What are you guys doing?' us?!" Paulie thundered at Nami, "How dare you so openly change in front of everyone, you shameless girl?!"

"Nice shamelessness," the men chorused faintly.

"I couldn't help it. We only have one car," Nami said.

"Hide your belly! Belly and legs!" Paulie demanded, his cheeks growing pink. He then turned his wrath on the Franky Family twins, "You guys, too, Square Sisters! People like you corrupt society!"

"Don't mind him," Nana said as she pulled him away, "He's the reason why I've never worn a bikini. I'd never hear the end of it."

"Why would you wear a bikini?!" Paulie snapped, "You can't even swim!"

"Oh no…" Lulu mumbled. Tilestone was not so subtle.

"Crap! Paulie-san! You mentioned a taboo subject!" he bellowed, "NO ONE IS SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT NANA-SAN'S FEAR OF WATER!"

There was a stunned silence as everyone looked at Nana. She blushed furiously and punched Tilestone hard in the stomach. "You just told everyone, you idiot!"

"Nana...you can't swim?" Nami asked.

"I've got Pygmy," Nana said defensively and pointed at his saddle.

"How can someone who grew up in a water town be afraid of water?" Zoro asked incredulously.

"I got over it, okay?! Now get off my case!" Nana snapped.

Paulie scratched the back of his head and stared anxiously at Nana. "Now that we're talking about it...How did you get over your fear?"

Nana glared back at him. "What?" she demanded.

"Well, one day you couldn't even dip a toe in a tub and then you were able to jump onto the tracks to fix the sea trains...We knew better to ask you but I've always wanted to know."

Nana took a deep breath and then looked over at Pygmy, who wagged his tail back at her. "Franky...helped me."

"Big Bro?!" Zambai gasped and Nana nodded.

"I used to sneak out to the scrapyard after work and without Icy noticing anything to get advice and insight from Franky...When he learned about my fear of water, he became intent on teaching me how to swim," Nana explained.

Granny Kokoro laughed. "Franky has always been a great swimmer. He would be the perfect coach."

Nana couldn't help but snort. "Too bad I wasn't the perfect student. I was too stubborn and too afraid to really learn so Franky could only settle with teaching me how not to panic when I'm immersed in water...That's why he suggested I build a saddle for Pygmy."

"How did we not know this about our Big Bro?! We follow him everywhere!" one of the twins demanded.

Nana raised any eyebrow but before she could answer, Granny Kokoro cut in. "Franky and Iceberg had long made a deal to avoid each other in order to keep anyone from knowing Franky was Cutty Flam. That deal also extended to Nana. Neither of them wanted Nana to get involved so Franky probably took some precautions to keep his meetings with Nana a secret…" she turned to Nana, "It was also why Iceberg never told you about who Cutty Flam really was or mentioned Pluton until now."

Nana felt anger flare up inside her. "Yeah, well, look what good that did. They should've just told me about Pluton so I could've helped somehow."

"They were just trying to keep you safe," Granny Kokoro said.

"I could've kept THEM safe!" Nana snapped back. Her nostrils flared in anger and she gritted her teeth.

"How?!" Paulie demanded, "Lucci and them...The CP-9 members are strong and they would've killed the entire city, if it meant getting their hands on the blueprints."

"Then those blueprints should've been destroyed when the CP-9 members came to claim it!" Nana retorted.

"Hehehehe." Granny Kokoro's chuckle cut through the tension between Nana and Paulie. They turned to the old woman and she took a swig from her bottle. She grinned at Nana. "You know, I always wondered what Iceberg was thinking when he decided to adopt you...but I think I now know the answer."

That caught Nana off guard and she took a second look at the old woman. "What are you talking about?'

"Iceberg is never going to admit it...but...you are exactly like Franky. Same mindset, same stubbornness, and even the same confidence in yourself." Granny Kokoro smiled at Nana with a touch of sadness in her eyes. "I think raising you...was Iceberg's attempt at finding a way to forgive Franky for what happened to Tom-san."

Nana felt her stomach tighten. She felt her eyes sting with her tears and she inhaled a sharp breath. She could feel all eyes on her and she hated it. She cleared her throat and darted her eyes towards the door. "Well, it'll all go to shit if we don't get Franky and Nico Robin back," she grunted, "So let's just focus on that, okay?"

"Nana-san" Lulu started to say and she glared at him.

"Don't say another word!" she barked and marched towards the door, "Our focus should be on catching up with the Puffing Tom. Not on Icy and certainly not on me. Now I'm going to go make sure this train is on track while you idiots get a grip."

She slammed the door behind her and Pygmy and the shipwrights of Galley-La exchanged a look of concern.

"Meh! I can't swim and I'm fine," Luffy suddenly said with a grin. He had been listening intently during this exchange but now there was a laid back smile on his face. He started to shove a large hunk of meat into his pockets. "I wish they had made the pockets in these black shorts bigger," he grumbled.

Nana rubbed the back of her neck and tried to release the tension by circling her head. She leaned out the window and watched the passing waters. The steam gauge showed that they had more than enough steam to cover them for awhile. The pipes and valves were as good of a shape as it could be and there was nothing to do be done in regards to the brakes. She was left with nothing but her thoughts.

Seeing the waves swell around her reminded her of those "swimming lessons" with Franky. She had clung onto Pygmy's back, shivering furiously, while he doggy paddled.

"Let go, Nana-brat!" Franky would keep insisting but she refused to release her grip around Pygmy's neck. He was her life preserver and the feel of the cold seawater around her body made her paralyzed with fear.

"I can't! I can't!" she would cry again and again.

She had worn Franky down until finally he gave up and made peace with the fact that being able to get Nana into water was good enough. He then suggested making Pygmy's saddle so that she didn't accidentally choke her dog one day.

Nana didn't know whether to laugh or cry at those memories. Now that Iceberg was seemingly out of harm's way, it seems the bad guys were trying to take away another important person in her life. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head as if that would physically clear her mind. She lifted her eyelids and rested her chin on the windowsill.

Something caught her eye and she jerked her head back up. She leaned further out the window for a better look. The waves were swelling and descending at great heights but there was something up ahead. She could've sworn she saw a glimmer of light. Her goggles were already over her eyes so she knew it wasn't the spray of the seawater that was affecting her vision.

She pulled out a small brass telescope from her pocket and brought it to her eye. She opened the telescope so she could get a closer look. She saw the light again and this time, she could see the detail of a sea train caboose. She quickly pulled down the intercom microphone. "Hey...guys...You might want to come to the front and see this. We have company."

"OYYYYYY! I see a train ahead of us!"

Nana almost dropped the intercom and she looked directly above her. The rubber man was standing on the roof and making his way towards the front of the train again. "Luffy! What are you doing up there?!"

"Look! It's the train. It must be the one Robin is in right?" the rubber man shouted excitedly.

Nana frowned. "It can't be...It's definitely too early for us to already be catching up to the Puffing Tom...Unless Sanji and them have done something to it. Do you think they're there?"

Luffy grinned, "Only one way to find out. Gum Gum…." He grabbed onto Rocketman's chimney with two hands and then kept walking backwards until he was stretched very far. Then he released his grip and shot forward. "Rocket!"

"Luffy!" Chopper gasped as he entered the engine room with Pygmy just in time to see his captain fly across the sea and into the train car ahead of them.

"He went to go check if your friends and Franky are in the car," Nana said, with her eyes forward, "Judging by how the light is swaying and not getting smaller, I'd say that that train car is detached…"

"Do you think they got away with Franky and Robin?" Chopper asked hopefully.

Nana picked him up so he could see out the window himself. "We'll see what Luffy finds in there," she said and handed him the telescope.

They watched in silence as they waited for the rubber man's signal. The car ahead started to shake and Nana could hear the faint sounds of gunfire. It's definitely a train car filled with government officials then…

"Ah! Luffy's come out!" Chopper shouted, "He's crossed his arms. They're not in there."

Nana casually turned on the intercom again. "Alright, nobody important in the train ahead. Now which one of you lazy bastards wants to clear the area so we don't crash?" she asked dryly and then hung up.

"Oyyyy! Zoro!" Luffy shouted from stopped train car, as they moved closer and closer to it. "Cut them. They're in our way."

"Zoro?" Nana asked and looked down at Chopper curiously.

Chopper lifted his eye away from the telescope and nodded enthusiastically at Nana. "Zoro's going to be the greatest swordsman in the world one day. Watch!"

As the Rocketman surged forward, Nana felt goosebumps along her skin. There was a danger in the air and the intensity was palpable. She pulled herself out of the window just enough so that she could see over the top of the train. She watched as the swordsman took steady steps towards the front of the engine room roof.

The wind blew hard against Zoro but he was not swayed by it at all. His eyes were darkened and the sides of his yellow shirt whipped behind him. "The ego of the entropic world…," he growled lowly and grabbed two of his swords, "...can be slashed into pieces."

They were inches away from the abandoned car but Nana's attention was fixed on the swordsman and not up ahead. Zoro knelt down and crossed the hilts of his swords. "Two-Sword Style Sword Draw…"

With a blinding slash, the car split neatly into two pieces just as the Rocketman barreled through unscathed. The two halves flew past the train, with its passengers still standing on the floor. "Whaaat?!" the government officials exclaimed as Luffy casually jumped out of the car and onto the top of the Rocketman.

"Whaaaat?!" Nana heard the Franky Family scream from behind them.

The swordsman returned his swords back to his side and the pieces of the car fell into the water with a giant splash.

"Hey, Zoro…" Nana called out, still gripping tightly to the edge of the roof.

"Ah?" he asked, turning to her with a raised eyebrow.

"You're stronger than you look."

Zoro smirked and nodded coolly at Nana before she lowered herself back into the engine room. She grinned at Chopper. "I can see why you guys don't have that many people on your crew. You don't really need them since you guys are all so strong."

"Oh, not me!" Chopper said with a wave of his hooves, "The monster fighters are Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji! I'm just the ship's doctor."

"I saw you fight the Franky Family, Chopper," Nana said, "You were pretty good yourself."

Chopper got a sheepish look on his face and he started to wiggle his hooves in the air. "Complimenting like that won't make me happy, asshole," he squealed.

Nana chuckled and then the smile faded from her face. "Chopper," she ordered, "Give me the telescope."

"What? Oh! Here!" Chopper replied and hurriedly placed the telescope in her hand.

Nana raised it to her eyes and then frowned. She immediately went back out the window. To her relief, the swordsman was still there. "Zoro, there's-"

"Ah," the swordsman grunted, "I see it…"

"It's not you, right?" Nana asked.

Zoro shook his head.

"See what?" Chopper asked.

Nana handed the telescope back to the reindeer. "Look ahead. There's a sea king floating out there and it's perfectly cut in half."

Chopper gasped as he saw that Nana was right. There was a goldfish as big as a hill and floating in two pieces beside the rail.

"Whoever did this...is still up ahead," Nana replied solemnly.

"Ah! Someone's there on the tracks!" she heard Zambia cry from the back of the train, "Oh no! It's the Slip-Slasher!"

"Slip slasher?" came Luffy's voice.

"He's Ship-Slasher T-Bone, a Captain at Navy Headquarters. He cuts pirate ships like steaks!" Zambia answered.

Nana stared up at the swordsman. "Oy...I'll leave this to you...but if he even so much as leaves a scratch on Rocketman, I'm holding you responsible," she said calmly before climbing back into the engine room. She leaned an arm against the windowsill and looked forward. "Hey, Chopper…"

"Yah?"

"Who's stronger? Sanji or Zoro?"

"Huh? I don't know...Those two fight each other all the time though...but no one ever won."

"Interesting…" Nana grew silent as they approached Captain T-Bone. He was a scary looking guy but not because he looked mean or cruel. His face was just so sallow and sunken it seemed that his skin was just a thin wrapping around his skull. He had his sword raised and was running at them without any hesitation. You gotta admire his resolve.

The air was thickened with the feel of bloodlust again. Zoro stepped into view as he dashed forward off the front of the train and into the sea below.

"Right-Angle Flying Bird..." T-Bone cried.

"Three-Sword Style...Bull Demon," Zoro roared at the same time.

"...Bone Phoenix!" T-Bone shouted and unleashed a beam-shaped cut towards Zoro and the Rocketman. The cut bounced in the air and created sharp angular turns. The end of the beam formed a bird shaped head. It opened its beak as it got closer to the pirate hunter.

Zoro effortlessly dodged the attack and continued to run forward. He blocked T-bone's sword and then crossed his own two swords with the blades pointing at the ship slasher. "Bold Hooves!"

T-Bone flew through the air with a painful cry and blood on his lips. The Rocketman sped past him before he landed into the sea water. Zoro was still on the tracks.

"Zoro!" Nana warned and he jumped up and to the side to avoid getting hit. He clung to the side of the train as it whipped through. Nana stretched her hand out the window and he took it. His rough hands were not affected by the rain and she pulled him into the engine room.

Nana went to the back of the room and opened the door. "Want to head back and join the others?"

Chopper jumped out of his seat and nodded and Zoro calmly followed suit. Chopper was about to step out when Nana picked him up by the collar and dropped him on Pygmy's back. He looked up at her in surprise.

"The wind is picking up," Nana said, "You'll fly off if you don't hold onto something heavy."

As soon as they got back into the passenger car, Zoro sat in a corner and took a nap. His snores were louder than Nana's buzzsaws and Zambai dutifully covered him with a warm blanket.

"There's no doubt about it," Nami said with her hands on her hips, "Sanji-kun and the others detached that sea train."

So if he's the brawn, Nana thought as she watched the sleeping swordsman, Does that mean Sanji's the brain?

"Then, are we gonna catch up with them soon?" Luffy asked Nami excitedly.

"Probably," Nami said.

"Wooo!" Luffy cheered, "We're closing in on our enemy!"