The Wish Box

Chapter 11: Nami's Dream

The fireworks that lit up the night sky were a bit unnerving at first. They reflected off the three man squad team showing the stern glances of seriousness. Even the far off town no noises could be made out. It was like a ghost town. All the lights were off in the buildings, and even the streets were deserted. Fireworks normally meant something was being celebrated and the mood was normally light and cheerful. Tonight the rolling thunder of the colorful display meant only one thing. War.

It was war when you messed with one of the Straw Hat pirates and it was never taken lightly. Hell, even people that weren't Straw Hats but he considered friends it was an act of war to mess with them. Anyone he considered a friend, from dragons to princesses, he wouldn't let anyone hurt them while he was around.

So an unknown force of invisible nature scared him. Sure he never really got scared, not with his friends around, not when he had the power to fight, but how do you fight something that wasn't technically there? This mystery box or whatever it was had one source and that was this guy Sebastian. If they could kick his ass Nami would be safe right? She wouldn't be reduced to passing out randomly because of some wish she made in the middle of a conversation if they got rid of him right? It had to be fixed this way because this was the only way he knew how to fix it.

"Ready, Luffy?" Robin asked quietly from beside him. He was kind of surprised that for once she was going along with one of his ideas. She was decked head to toe in an all-black outfit admittedly she didn't have a ski mask and she wasn't wearing a cool belt or anything but in a small way he felt like that was going along with it. He grinned at her.

"Of course," he said in an equally quiet voice. He found himself laughing quietly in excitement.

"Spy mission operation," he muttered excitedly to himself.

He sort of wished Usopp had been around to hear Robin's plan but he would begrudged admit it was best to keep the operation small. Plus the more people around Nami the safer she would be while she recovered. Still Brook was more than willing to compensate for his blunder of letting the man on board to begin with. He had even gone as far as to paint his cheek bones with black paint. The only visible white on the skeleton were his teeth but he could pull down his ski mask that he was wearing if it was needed. The three man team nodded to each other as they started off the docks and silently crept their way through town. They were relying on Brook to find this guy and hopefully he was the right one.

Luffy cracked his knuckles in anticipation and chuckled under his breath. It would all work out in the end. Of that he was positive.

()()()()()()()()

"Mhhhhmmmmmmmm Zooorro," Nami moaned from her bed. The sheets were starting to twist and reveal her creamy skin as she tossed and her hand drew his hand that was tangled with hers up to her lips. Her tongue darted out to taste him and he cursed every possible deity for this torture and embarrassment.

Seriously? His ears tinted a shade as he stared blankly at the wall. Even Chopper was having a hard time and was trying to look anywhere but at the navigator. Any time he started to move his hand away from her grasp her face would pale and her breathing would shallow. Chopper would scold him and demand he touched her again. How the hell could he keep physical contact with her when she made it sound like they were making a porno? She wasn't even fucking conscious and they were both fully clothed, hell he wasn't even in bed with her. He was just glad that the others had left before she had started this. He didn't want to explain to Luffy… sex. He couldn't tell if his asexual captain knew what it was or not but having to hear Nami moan his name would have undoubtedly confused him.

"I swear on all that is holy-"

"AH!" she gasped. Her hand tugged on his making him half fall onto the bed. He reeled and just barely escaped her clutches as she leaned forward and moaned some more. His jaw snapped shut with a loud snap as he swallowed his words.

"If it makes you feel better Zoro, the arousal she's feeling is helping the poison exit her system faster," Chopper said quietly from his corner. He had checked all her vitals and was just trying to finish her antidote when Nami started getting all sleep horny, or whatever the hell you called it. The little doctor had been extremely alarmed at first but got over it saying he had seen worse (which just made Zoro wonder what the hell he had seen in the past two years).

"It doesn't make me feel better," he growled.

"Mmmmmmmmmmm."

"She seems to like your voice," Chopper whispered quietly as if he was intruding on a moment. Zoro just tightly nodded, now making a mental note to not speak until the navigator was fully conscious again and even then he would be weary of using his voice.

Their joined hands started to travel lower on her body before he even realized what she was doing. He managed to place enough pressure to stop her wandering hand at her side and watched as her breathing became shallow again.

"Her breathing-"

"From something else Zoro," Chopper said in a squeak. If the reindeer could blush then he sure as hell could. Both studied the wall with pure fascination as Nami continued to pant out his name.

He didn't care if she was unconscious. He was going to fucking make her pay for this later. Although the awkward situation was… well awkward, but it was at least it was with Chopper and himself. He couldn't imagine what that stupid fucking Love cook would be doing right now. Probably touch himself as he died of a nose bleed.

"Zorrrooooo," Nami moaned.

"What?" he hissed. He was fed up with this. She needed to wake up or something. It was bad enough having to see her parade around in underwear earlier, have to shake off this desire to actually want to kiss her, talk to Luffy about this situation, but he now had to listen to her lay there and moan his name? No normal sane person could deal with this, and he for one liked to count himself as one of the few sane people on this ship.

"Please…" she whimpered.

He glanced up to look at Chopper. The little doctor didn't really need to know about this, or about sex in his opinion, but that might have been his brotherly complex talking. He sure as hell didn't want him to hear Nami beg him for imaginary sex while she slept. His cheeks flushed as Chopper gave him a curious glance as if wondering what he would do.

"Nami shut up," he spat gritting his teeth together.

To his complete and utter surprise she did. Her words instantly muffled but her body continued to twist and wreath around. She was starting to sweat profusely and it stuck to her hair as she soundlessly moaned, her hips would buck forward occasionally, and her breathing turned quieter. Tears leaked out of her closed eyes as she gasped one final time before limply laying on the bed.

He turned panicked to Chopper but the doctor had his backed turned and was readying a needle with his newly concocted medicine.

"Chopper!" he panicked and half picked Nami up from the bed to bring her closer to the doctor. Her skin was unnatural cold against his that he had to repress a shiver.

"She's fine," Chopper assured him. He picked up her arm and quickly used a swab to clean it before sticking her with the needle. "She ran the course of her dream. Her heart's still beating rapidly but her body is relaxing, with the poison in her system that could be dangerous but this antidote should fix her up."

As if the young doctor's words were magic Nami shifted in his arms and groaned soundlessly. He jumped and realized that he was half sitting on her bed and gently lowered her back down. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head with his free hand.

For what it was worth he wasn't used to this type of situation. It was different to have a friend lying sick in a bed fighting something you couldn't see. It was a lot harder. If she had been actually physically injured the story might have been different. He wouldn't be sitting on the edge of his seat waiting for some type of positive response from her.

Chopper bent down over her and picked up her wrist. He held it for a moment longer than needed as he studied his friend. The small breath he let out seemed annoyed, and something he normally reserved for when Zoro was stubbornly refusing treatment or taking off his bandages. He glanced over at the young doctor.

"If she asks… we didn't hear anything," Chopper said sternly. He nodded in agreement. He didn't need Nami to freak out on him on top of everything else that had happened today. Emotionally he wasn't equipped to handle all of this and he just wanted to lean back against the chair and shut his eyes.

Only he couldn't. He was on edge because he wanted to go out and find the jack ass that had done this and given her this box. He wanted to tear that jerk limp from limp without the help of his swords. He wanted to, but he couldn't. Zoro was told that he had to stay here, by her side. He wasn't suited to be the dotting worrying type. He hated it. He hated sitting here and being so useless when something was being done. He just hoped that Luffy would come back soon and bring guy with him.

He shifted in his seat as he stared down at Nami. His thoughts were swirling in a direction that he wasn't fond of. He knew what this meant. The past two days had been the type of usual crazy rambunctious way of the crew but there was a slow laziness to it. It felt like something had to be figured out fast but they were missing a vital piece of information. He felt like he knew it too, but he couldn't place it no matter what. It had him on edge.

He felt a sharp tug on his wrist to see Nami looking at him with wide eyes.

"Is there a side effect to the medicine?" he asked Chopper his gaze trained on Nami horrified as she pulled on his wrist with a little more force.

"No?" the reindeer rushed over to her side as Nami frantically gestured to her throat and mouth, soundlessly.

"Nami…" he said cautiously, her frantic gaze shot up to meet his. "Speak."

"What the hell?" She sat up quickly but Chopper placed a hand on her shoulder and gently guided her back down. "Why the fuck can I only talk after you tell me to speak? And what was with that wording, do you think I'm a fucking dog or something?"

"Feel better?" he asked.

"No-"

"Fuck," he swore mostly to himself. He pulled his hand out of Nami's grip to stare at his hands blankly. Of course this just had to be added to the list of things that could go wrong today. Now he suddenly had that type of power over her? Maybe it was just a fluke.

"Calm down," he said quietly more of asking her to than actually telling her to.

"Calm down? Calm down?! You want me to calm down?!"

He sucked in a deep breath and gritted his teeth together.

"Please," he added.

()()()()()()()()

He watched wearily as three figures jumped to shore and made their way towards the center of town. He wasn't sure why fireworks were going off, some weird tradition it seemed, but no one was outside to enjoy them. It almost felt like the explosion of colors that tainted the night sky were wasted. He tensed as the eerie light showed that the figures were a lot closer to him than he expected and he ducked around a corner to edge his way back around.

A tall haunting figure with pearly white teeth could be seen amongst the group as they looked torn on what direction to take. The skeleton was nodding, and Straw Hat looked torn. The only reason he knew it was Straw Hat was because of well… it just couldn't be anyone else. Even with the missing hat. He couldn't make out the third figure. It was too dark to tell.

But surely that meant that two of his greatest threats weren't on the ship anymore. He wasn't stupid. He knew what he was getting himself into but he was just so hell bent on his revenge, he didn't care about what happened to him in the process. As long as he took her down with him. But he had heard enough stories about Straw Hat Luffy to know that this wouldn't be easy. He had heard the boy was simple, and he had hoped something that was enigmatic would throw the boy off. He couldn't beat something that required intelligence. Although he wasn't fighting just Luffy. If they caught on to him he would have to best the whole crew. It would be a failure if it came to that. So he would have to play his cards right and sneak around to place perfectly planned traps.

It was a lot harder than he thought. He had to study the crew. He didn't know all of their weaknesses, and even with his crafty ways and slightly above average strength, he knew he was no match for them. It was best to get as many members of the crew out of the way, or simply just target her.

And he had decided to just target her. It required the least amount of effort and it took care of his worry about Straw Hat. Hell he hadn't realized Nami wouldn't wish for something selfish like he had expected. The old hag had said something about her making a wish and struggling with it, but that only played to his advantage. If she was handicapped, she would be easier to target.

A particularly loud firework boomed overhead and the sliver light it produced caused him to cringe into the shadows.

He stuck his head around the corner timidly making sure that three of the Straw Hats had disappeared. The street was deserted again and there was a clear path to the ship. Feeling smug his grip tightened on the object that was pressed deep into his pocket. That small object should be enough to take care of the other five long enough for him to get her.

Checking the street one last time he stepped out and made a dash towards the unguarded ship.

Only something sprouted up and caught his leg.

"That was too easy," pouted a familiar male voice before he felt something hard hit him in the stomach.

()()()()()()()()()()()

"It hasn't happened before," Nami's voice sounded broken as she laid there in bed. Absentmindedly she stroked her throat as she stared at her two friends with a sense of loss.

Zoro remained silent next to her, obviously as mortified as she was. None of them could think of an explanation besides the Wish, and none of them mentioned it out loud. It seemed like it was Taboo, or that the truth would make it all too real. She shivered.

"I haven't…" Zoro started, he was staring at his hands with a hard look. "I haven't exactly ordered you around before," he finished. He looked rather resentful. He was hunched over next to her bed, his eyes trained on his tanned hands against the white sheets of the bed. His forehead was practically touching the bed as well and he refused to look up at her.

For the thousandth time since she uttered those stupid words into the box Nami was infinitely grateful that Zoro had been the one that was stuck with her in this state. He wouldn't abuse this power over her because of his weird sense of moral. And she silently praised him for not being like her in that sense. He looked so pissed at himself that she felt bad. It was in a sense her fault. She brought this upon him and herself.

His hunched shoulders were close enough for her to reach out and pat. But that didn't seem like it would fit the situation, and Chopper's wide staring eyes made her self-conscious about any type of physical action.

"I order you around all the time. Let's just call it even this once," she said swinging her legs over the side of the bed and stretching her body. She wanted to dismiss this and get things back to normal as soon as possible. She felt her resolve brace itself as she took a deep breath. She had to talk to Luffy.

"Nami you should really stay in bed a bit longer," Chopper warned. His arm stretched out to steady her as he scampered to her side.

She patted his head lightly as she strode towards the door. Outside she could hear a few thunderous booms of fireworks and she wondered if Luffy and Usopp were messing around. Before she could even take another step or even voice the questions that were burning on her tongue, the door flew open and Sanji and Usopp stumbled in almost clumsily.

"Oh Nami, you're up," swooned the cook immediately at her side. He grinned at her in a way that made it seem like something drastic had changed between them, and she smiled back realizing that something had changed.

"Yeah, I'm feeling loads better thanks to Chopper," she said glancing back at the doctor.

"Don't compliment me, you bastard. Get back in bed," he ordered but it was halfhearted as always as he danced at her praise.

"Where's Luffy?" Usopp asked. He was eyeing Nami like she was a piece of fragile glass that would explode at any given moment.

She shrugged. She had just been about to ask that question herself. Her captain was first on her list this time, what happened to her could be asked later. Besides she knew the jest of it anyways. She passed out.

"Then why do you have his hat?"

Startled she looked down to see that she was grasping her Captain's hat tightly in her hand. How the hell had she not noticed that? Nervously she pulled it to her chest.

"I don't know. I just woke up," she told him. The hat had his scent on it, like sweat and ocean. It was something all of them normally smelled like but for some reason she related it mostly to Luffy. She wondered why he would leave his hat with her. He had probably been really worried about her, and how sick she had been. She felt her legs wobble as guilt came crashing down around her. She still had to explain to him, still had to tell him what was wrong, and she still had to ask for his help. Her hands instinctively moved the hat to rest behind her neck, the string keeping it in place for her.

"He left with Brook and Robin to get that bastard that gave Nami the box," Chopper informed him.

Sanji spun and stomped towards the door.

"Wait," she called out. She took a deep breath trying to get her bearings. It sounded a lot like everyone knew. She realized that she was in the middle of the room, awkwardly standing there between Sanji and Usopp, and Zoro and Chopper. All four of them were practically evenly spaced away from her, ready to grab her if she fell. Vertigo hit her hard and she wondered if she should take Chopper's advice and sit down and relax for a while.

"I'm going after that bastard too," Sanji said towards the door. His back to her as his knuckles flexed over the handle.

"Luffy will get him," Zoro snapped speaking up for the first time. Sanji still opened the door and the booming fireworks seemed a thousand times louder than they had been before.

"We need a plan," Nami agreed nodding.

"Oh like that bastard has a plan. He probably just charged out on the island like he always does," Sanji grumbled but he didn't close the door. His jaw seemed to strain with agitation.

"Which is exactly why we need one," Nami said smugly.

Another crack of a distant firework greeted everyone as silence filled the room. So what was the plan? What could they do? Before anyone could really figure anything out or before anyone could break the heavy silence, footfalls could be heard charging in their direction.

"SUPER!"

Before she even had time to blink Franky shot into the room, grabbed her and dashed over board. They plunged into the ocean before anyone could even scamper out of the room after them.


A/N: You may throw stones at me. *Cringes* I know... I know. Sorry about the delay... Really I could rant about what's going in my life right now, but I don't feel like it. Hahaha. I just realized I had already written this chapter and figured I might as well post it. Next chapter is in progress so hopefully I'll have that updated sooner than last time. Keep in mind though that school just started for me as well and that has dibs on my attention. :p

Edit!- Sheesh. Sorry about that everyone. I normally go over my writing to pick up mistakes like that. I can't believe I missed it. Thanks for pointing it out. If you're reading this chapter for the first time don't worry about it. Everyone else. Excuse me for that mix up.