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Chapter 11:
Zoro found himself scanning the crowd as they entered the town. His eyes passed over several individuals before a bearded man caught his attention. The man's eyes were lingering in Nami's direction.
Zoro's hand lowered to his katanas as he zeroed in on him. He only had to take in the man's slouch and his uncoordinated gait to know that the man was no bounty hunter. He concluded that the man's interest were probably carnal rather than criminal. Though oddly enough, he didn't find this conclusion reason to relax his hand. Instead, he placed it firmly atop his katanas and gave the man a narrow eyed stare as they passed. The man's eyes widened and he took a step back. Zoro sneered. Creep.
Nami seemed blissfully unaware of the interaction that had just taken place. Her head was swiveling back and forth; apparently debating different stores. Sanji practically hovered beside her. "Where first Nami-Swan?"
Her eyes lit up as they locked in on a target. Zoro couldn't contain his groan. The front window was crowded with colorful dresses.
Meanwhile, Sanji swooned. "Nami-Swan in beautiful dresses!"
Zoro resisted the urge to smack his face again. This was a mistake.
Upon entering the store, Zoro dropped into the first chair he could find. It was pink and squishy; he hated it. Nami had already begun browsing the racks of clothes and Sanji practically danced around the store as he pulled out various items of clothing for her.
Nami dug a dress out from the back of a rack, and as she held it up, her face lit up in a jubilant grin. He had to admit that it was nice to see her smile like that; as if she didn't have a care in the world. Ever since her bounty had been announced, those kinds of smiles had been few and far between.
She began to excitedly dig through another rack of clothes and Zoro slouched back into the chair. Maybe this trip wasn't such a bad idea.
Zoro had just closed his eyes when he heard his name. He cracked an eye open to see Sanji holding up two pieces of clothing in front of Nami. Nami was looking at him.
"Huh?"
"Which one do you think is better?" She gestured to the two dresses.
Zoro closed his eyes. "Ask Sanji."
"I already did. He's just agreeing with whatever I say." As if to prove her point, she grabbed the dresses and looked at the cook. She lifted the dress on the left. "I like this one."
Sanji threw out his arms. "It will look wonderful on you Nami-san! The most beautiful dress for the most beautiful woman."
She held up the dress on the right. "Actually, I think I like this one."
Sanji dropped to one knee. "Even more beautiful than the last! You will be stunning!"
She turned back to Zoro, eyebrows raised, as if silently saying: see what I mean? She lifted both dresses up for him. "I don't want to waste my money. Which one's better?"
Zoro sighed, squinting at one dress and then the other. They didn't seem that different. One was dark purple and had straps, the other was pink and didn't. He looked at each one a second time.
"Well?"
Zoro scratched the side of his face. "The purple one?"
"Why?" She arched her brow, clearly trying to catch him in the act of having chosen one at random.
He let his hand drop. "Uh. Wasn't the ridiculous outfit Sanji got you in Alabasta about that shade? I remember it was a nice color." Zoro could recall when Sanji had proudly delivered those outfits. He hadn't thought much of them at the time, but looking back on it, Nami's had looked…nice. But then he also remembered the piggy back ride he had been forced to give her a few days later. Zoro frowned.
Zoro, caught up in the memory, didn't at first notice the silence. When he did, he looked up in confusion. Nami was giving him a strange look.
"What?"
She shook her head and looked back at the dresses. "The purple one it is."
They spent a half an hour at that store and proceeded to visit two more after it. After they left the third shop, Zoro noticed Nami eyeing a lingerie parlor.
"Do you want to kill the love cook?"
They both glanced at Sanji in time to see a drop of blood trickle from his nose as he gave the store a wide-eyed stare.
Nami sighed, "Fine. I'll do that shopping some other time."
Nami readjusted her bag as she looked around. Zoro was already carrying one bag, and Sanji had two.
"Can we go back now?" Zoro knew he probably sounded like a petulant child, but he didn't care. He was tired of shopping.
Nami ignored his question as she stood on her toes to see over the crowd. "I think I see a park over there. Want to go?"
Zoro hesitated. A short nap in the park did sound nice. And it wasn't like Sanji was going to take his eyes off Nami.
She continued, "I just want to see some greenery before we go back to the ship. We'll head back right after."
Zoro was picturing a patch of soft grass, shaded perfectly by a large tree. He did really want a nap. When he came back to himself, Nami and Sanji were already walking towards the park. He scowled as he hurried to catch up with them.
The park was large. It stretched out in a vast circle. Dark green grass spread across it, punctuated by trees and scattered rosebushes. Several park-goers were sitting on benches, and some were even lying on the grass.
Nami kicked off her shoes and buried her feet in the grass. She closed her eyes as she scrunched and un-scrunched her toes around the soft blades.
Zoro had turned to look for the ideal napping tree when a figure caught his eye. The man was tall. A blue button down shirt hung loosely around his skinny frame. He had long brown hair that was pulled back in a ponytail, and narrow glasses which were perched on top of his sharp nose. And most importantly, he was walking directly towards them.
Zoro reached forward, gently grabbing the navigator's arm. Her eyes snapped open as he pulled her back. She opened her mouth, but he spoke first.
"Sanji."
"I see him." A freshly lit cigarette was balanced between his lips.
With Nami behind him, he reached for his katanas. He felt her trying to peer over his shoulder as the man approached.
"What is it?" Her voice was close to his ear.
The man stopped a few yards away.
"We're about to find out."
The man rested his hands on his hips as he leaned to one side. "You're an uptight bunch, aren't you?" His voice was quiet and his tone conversational.
Zoro stubbornly gripped the hilt of his katana. He didn't mind that he was confirming the stranger's words.
The man continued unperturbed, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Sobra Jett." He inclined his head in a slight bow. "I would very much like to fight the beautiful pirate Nami. To see if I might claim her bounty."
The silence was punctuated by the warbling tweets of a nearby bird.
Sanji blew out a stream of smoke. "How about no."
A soft scrape sounded as Zoro loosed the first katana in its sheath. "The last guy must not have spread the word like I told him to. Before you can fight Nami, you're gonna have to-"
He stopped when he felt the pressure of a hand on his back. Her voice was quiet, but firm.
"I want to fight him."
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