Disclaimer: One Piece does not belong to me, it belongs to Oda.

I have to apologize for this update taking a bit longer. In writing it, I hit a bit of a block. For whatever reason, the words were not flowing as easily as they usually do. But despite my frustrations, I did manage to find some of the words I was looking for. I hope it's still an enjoyable read. Anyway, I appreciate all of the reviews I have gotten so far. You guys are great! Without further ado, here is the next installment in the Straw Hat Pirates' adventure :)

Chapter 21:

Nami panted as she slid down the center of the creek bed, the soles of her shoes slipping on the slick, shiny rocks. The stream's serene gurgling was drowned out by her splashing footfalls. Nami cursed the noise, but it couldn't be helped. She could either move quickly or quietly; And right now, she needed to be quick. She had been running from Kikori and the giant bounty hunter for the last several minutes – and they weren't far behind. When Nami had spied the winding stream, she had quickly slid down the grassy slope and into the shallow water, hoping to buy herself some time from the men who were tracking her.

Her shoes were soaked and her legs dripping water when she saw the thick branch hanging low over the stream. Its dark bark was splattered with green and gray lichen. The fungus was coarse beneath her fingers as she wrapped her hands around the branch and heaved herself from the gurgling water. In a swift but clumsy motion, she hooked her good leg over the branch and pulled herself upon it. The branch rocked beneath her weight, but mercifully it did not break. If it had, the noise would surely have given her away.

Nami pulled herself across the branch as quickly as she was able. She hoped that her short detour through the trees would further confuse her trackers. As she worked her way towards the center of the large tree, she tried not to think about the swordsman she had left in the meadow. The image of him struggling beneath the massive black beast flashed fresh in her memory. Nami flinched.

She felt slightly sick as she pulled herself onto the branch of an adjacent tree. Scooting along, images played in her mind – horrible scenarios of Zoro's fight with the wolf going terribly wrong. At one point she stopped altogether, resolved to retrace her steps back to the meadow. How could she have left him? But she stopped before she had completed the turn upon the thin branch. Nami squeezed her eyes closed and let out a slow breath. This was Zoro. He could handle himself. She would only make things worse if she allowed herself to be captured.

Nami's fingers dug into the coarse wood as she pulled herself along. Zoro would be fine. He had promised to meet her right? And Zoro did not break his promises. With that final thought, Nami lowered herself slowly to the ground, stretching her good leg out until the tip of her shoe skimmed the underbrush. She fell to the ground with a soft thud, biting her lip against her ankle's sudden flare of pain. As she limped deeper into the forest, she did her best to ignore the heavy weight in her stomach; her lingering fear for the green-haired swordsman.

Nami hadn't gone far when her ankle gave out again. The navigator stifled her cry as she pitched suddenly sideways, managing at the last moment to catch herself on a tree's wide trunk. She soon felt herself leaning heavily against the rough bark as the muscles in her left leg clenched from running in an awkward gait. She felt the leg begin to quake as she gradually sank down to the damp forest floor. Nami sucked in slow, deep breaths. A short break. Just a breather. That was all she needed.

Nami clenched her jaw as she slowly extended her leg. She closed her eyes as she pressed her injured ankle against the cool dirt. Her exhale sounded absurdly loud in the still forest. Eyes still closed, she held her breath and strained her ears, listening for the sounds of pursuit. She didn't hear anything – yet. But they were out there somewhere. Going up the stream and climbing the tree had bought her some time, but she wasn't sure how much.

When Nami opened her eyes, she blinked twice at the scene before her. It was beautiful. Muted rays of sunlight sifted through the thick foliage, dimly lighting the surrounding forest. A moth's white wings were briefly caught in an afternoon ray's yellow glow. For a moment, the fluttering wings seemed alight in an ethereal glow, a powerful contrast to the shade that permeated the forest. But a bough sighed in the breeze and the light shifted; the moth's glowing ceased, and the small creature flitted away into the darkness. From deeper within the trees, echoed the mournful cooing of an owl.

Nami let out a shaking sigh. Why couldn't they ever visit these beautiful islands without encountering life threatening situations? She slowly tugged her leg back as she prepared to rise, but at the crack of a twig, she froze. Sticks and leaves crunched beneath measured footfalls.

"Little girlie. I know you're out here."

At Kikori's deep voice, Nami's hand automatically moved her clima-tact. Her fingers wrapped around its cool metal as she worked to slow her breathing.

"You can't hide from me out here. I thrive in the woods."

Nami's heart hammered in her chest as his footsteps drew closer. Pale fingers drew her clima-tact carefully from her belt.

"Venor and I actually had our first hunt together in woods just like these." Kikori's gravelly voice sent shivers down her spine. "A girl and her grandma."

Eyes widening, she raised a quivering hand to her mouth. She felt her stomach churn. He was a monster.

"The girl was about your age." His axe whistled lazily through the air. "And well – after that we just had to hunt again. We ended up making a living hunting down pirates with bounties."

Nami reached for the tree behind her. Her fingers dug into the thick bark, as she carefully pulled herself to her feet. A twig snapped nearby. Nami pressed her back firmly against the trunk; her lips pressed together as she exhaled slowly through her nostrils.

"Now, where are you?"

The gravelly voice sounded directly behind her; he was likely just beyond the tree. Nami swallowed, drawing her clima-tact to her chest. As his heavy footsteps moved steadily closer, she clenched her hand around the weapon. She would strike and then move – use the trees for cover.

A deep, mellow hoot sounded nearby. Kikori's footsteps halted at the sound. At once, there was a fluttering of wings and a small, dark shape passed overhead. Nami started and Kikori cursed in surprise at the owl's sudden flight. Nami moved. This was her chance.

The hunter was still looking up when she swung herself around the tree. Nami quickly analyzed the scene. With tightly packed trees, there still wasn't much room for movement. Kikori's head turned back in time to be butted solidly in the face by the end of her clima-tact. She hadn't had time to electrify it, but the hunter still stumbled back at the impact. She lowered her clima-tact before slashing diagonally with her baro-brace. A powerful gust of wind struck him square in the chest.

Nami watched with satisfaction as the hunter was flung into the side of a tree. The forest echoed with a deep crack as the wood splintered beneath him. His body slowly peeled from the tree and fell to the ground below. With shaking arms, Kikori raised himself briefly off the ground before collapsing face-first into the dirt.

Nami breathed a sigh of relief, letting her arm fall. It wasn't until she leaned back against the tree that she became aware of the quick, heavy footfalls. Nami froze. Oh no. A massive crack sounded. She rolled to the side as pieces of the tree she had been leaning against exploded around her. She looked up to see the giant bounty hunter standing where the tree had once stood. At his feet was what was left of a stump. The top half of the tree had fallen into the surrounding foliage, its branches entangling nearby trees and bushes. Around the giant, splintered pieces of wood and bark littered the forest floor.

The large man's lips pulled back in a stony frown as he turned to face her. Nami scrambled to her feet. She planted her clima-tact against the ground, leaning heavily against it as she hurried backwards. She needed to put some space between her and this guy. Nami's eye's raked his huge figure; she still had no idea how to beat him.

Stumbling backwards, her hand brushed over a metal object at her side. Nami stilled. The flare. Still backing away, the navigator tugged the small gun from her belt. Its compact form was surprisingly heavy in her grasp. She lifted it, leveling it at the approaching bounty hunter. She had two choices: fire it at the big guy or shoot it up for help. Nami's finger hovered over the trigger. She could shoot it at him, but there was the possibility that it would have little to no effect on the giant man. If she shot it up, her nakama would be able to find her - unless they were still wandering the forest. Nami cringed. Had Usopp even been able to stop Luffy?

Nami took another step back. But if she did fire it, and it didn't work, she was going to be in big trouble – with no one there to help. With that thought, Nami lifted the flare gun above her head and fired. The glowing flare left the barrel with a hollow pop. Nami watched as the red beacon sailed high into the sky. The bounty hunter paused as his eyes followed the bright flare too.

Nami dropped the gun as she retreated a few steps further. Now she had to either defeat this guy or last long enough for her friends to get there. Nami twisted, glancing at the terrain behind her. She squinted. It looked like the forest floor dropped into a slope in the distance. Nami looked back at the walking wall. His eyes were once more trained on her. Frowning in thought, Nami took another few stumbling steps back. When Zoro had been able to knock his feet out from under him, that guy had fallen hard and it had taken him a good minute to get back up.

Nami stepped back further. On uneven ground, she might have an advantage. She looked back at the slope. From where she stood, it was hard to tell its steepness or even how far it fell – but if the slope was far enough, she might be able to do a bit of damage by knocking him down it. Nami looked again at his giant body. If that guy started rolling, he wasn't going to stop.

Heavy footfalls signified his approach. In one swift motion, Nami tucked her clima-tact into her belt and turned towards the slope. Nami forced herself to run, gritting her teeth every time her injured foot struck the ground. But she could still hear his pounding footsteps behind her – she couldn't stop now. Nami pumped her arms at her sides as she forced herself to move faster. She stumbled when her ankle gave out again, but she threw her weight forward and managed to keep moving.

Nami's eyes lit as she saw the ground begin to curve. Right there. There was a visible edge where the earth dropped down. Nami kept her eyes on that spot. They were almost there. Just before she reached the drop off, Nami threw her weight to the side, skidding across a littering of leaves. The giant hunter dug his heavy boots into the ground as he attempted to stop. His eyes went wide as the thick soles of his boots continued sliding over the forest floor. As he reached the edge of the slope, Nami lunged forward, throwing all of her weight at his back. The giant gave a startled bellow as the extra weight propelled his massive body over the edge.

As his round body took off in a spinning roll, Nami was pleased to see that the slope was long, and seemed to drop steeply downward at the bottom. While this would be helpful in defeating the giant hunter, Nami was quickly realizing that this did not bode well for her own well-being. In pushing her opponent off the edge, she had unbalanced herself as well, and Nami found herself pitching forward, seconds away from toppling down the slope behind the giant. The navigator frantically spun her arms in an attempt to regain her balance – but it was too late. Nami shrieked as she tumbled after the rolling giant.

The world was reduced to flashes of color as Nami tumbled over the rough terrain. She winced when a rock dug into her shoulder. When the slope's incline increased and her spinning roll sped, jarring her injured ankle, she cried aloud. Continually buffeted by the hard slope, and moving too quickly to hope of stopping, all Nami could do was wrap her arms over her head and close her eyes against the nauseating spinning of the world.

Nami gasped as she felt herself drop further. Her eyes snapped open when her body began suddenly sliding over smooth stone. As soon as her eyes opened, she saw the gaping mouth of a cave that opened at the base of the rock slide. What was that? Nami stretched her arms out and kicked her legs as she scrambled for purchase on the smooth stone. But she could do nothing to slow her descent. As she slid towards the base of the slope, the dark entrance loomed before her. Nearing the cave, the slope at once flattened. Nami shrieked as she tumbled into the darkness.

Nami cringed. But instead of landing on the hard stone, she was propelled harmlessly onto a soft, round surface. Groaning, she cracked an eye open. The navigator shrieked again at the sight that met her eyes. Looking down, she was practically face to face with the giant bounty hunter. It had been his large gut that had cushioned her fall. Her shoes dug into his squishy stomach as she scrambled backwards, wincing when she tumbled down onto the cave's hard floor.

Nami held her breath as she leaned forward to peer at the downed hunter. His mouth dangled open; a line of blood trailed from a wide nostril, down the side of his face. His lids were cracked open, but his eyes had rolled back and only white was visible in his slitted gaze.

Nami heaved a sigh as she sat back. The bounty hunter had fallen much quicker than her – obviously the tumble down the slope had taken a heavy toll on his large body. Of course, it hadn't been easy on her either. Nami rubbed a hand over her aching shoulder. Hand still massaging her tender skin, she twisted to survey her location.

Past the hunter's prone form, the cave narrowed into a tunnel. In the dim light, she could make out vague designs on the stone walls. Nami squinted. Symbols reminiscent of those they had seen in the ruins adorned the walls on either side of the passageway. Her eyes followed the designs etched onto the walls until they faded into the darkness that loomed further down the hallway. Nami shook her head – Robin would love this. As her thoughts turned towards the archeologist, Nami wondered if she and Sanji had managed to find any of the crew. Had they seen her flare? If they had, they could very well be on their way too – though there was no telling how long it would take them to cross the massive forest.

Nami glanced up. The entrance to the cave was wide and sat above a slight, gravelly incline. From where she sat, she could see the blue sky that beckoned beyond the cavern's entrance. Buoyed by the sight, Nami stood. She wasn't looking forward to the climb back up the slope, but it was better than staying here. She cast a wary glance towards the still bounty hunter. If that guy decided to wake up, she wanted to be as far away as possible.

She had taken a single, shaking step when a deep whoosh sounded behind her. Nami's hair fluttered around her face as a gust of air brushed against her back. Frowning, she turned. The air swirled around her, smelling of dust and mildew. It whistled as it curved around the walls of the tunnel beyond the cave. Along with the gust, there was a noise, barely perceptible to her ears. But when she closed her eyes, she could hear it. Seeming to emanate from the walls themselves, was a subtle groaning.

Nami was still, marveling over the mysterious breeze and the noises that accompanied it, when they both slowly ceased. The breeze tapered off and the groan faded moments later. The hairs on the back of Nami's neck stood on end. The whole event was not unlike a massive sigh. Nami tentatively touched the rock wall beside her. The stone was hard; cool beneath her fingers.

Nami lifted her hand from the wall in time to feel a single, additional gust of air. Nami's hand fell to her side when, following the gust, the symbols engraved upon the wall glowed with a pale, white light. Shocked, Nami blinked. And then blinked once more. As she watched with wide eyes, the light faded from the ruins and soon the hallway was dark once more. Nami swallowed as she took a careful step back. This was all getting too strange – it was time to go.

Nami had just made a quick turn towards the entrance when a guttural grinding erupted. She tensed. What now? Nami gasped in alarm when a thick pillared gate began to lower from the top of the cave's wide entrance. Nami swore and began a hobbling run towards the opening. Nami slipped as she scrambled up the gravelly path to the entrance. The gate was rapidly lowering, its gray pillars obscuring the blue sky beyond. The gray gate was nearly at the ground; soon the entire entrance would be blocked by the thick bars. Nami dug her feet into the gravel as she hurried up the path. She glanced up; her stomach dropped. She wasn't going to make it.

Nami cried out in frustration when her thin soles slipped on the gravel and she once again fell to her knees. She didn't have time. Nami fixed her gaze on the ground as she scrambled up the rest of the slope. She didn't look up, but she knew the gate was seconds from closing. When she slipped again, she knew it was over – she had missed her chance to escape the cave.

Nami hadn't even had the chance to lift her head when a swift scraping reached her ears. The swish of fabric over smooth stone. Nami tilted her head up in time to see a dark figure slide beneath the rapidly closing gap beneath the gate. In the next second, the heavy gate struck the ground with a deep thud.

The figure rolled twice before sliding to a stop beside her kneeling form. Nami let out a shuddering sigh as she turned her head up to look at the sweating swordsman. She wasn't alone. Nami tried to control her voice, but it nonetheless held a slight shake. "You caught up."

"For having an injured ankle, you covered a lot of ground." Zoro panted as he leaned forward, bracing his hands on his knees. "Took me a while - to catch up."

"You saw the flare?"

Zoro frowned, "I didn't notice one. I just followed after the direction you left, and then kept going south."

Nami's eye twitched; her previous relief in Zoro's company rapidly fading. "South is the complete opposite direction. I ran North"

Zoro scratched at his green hair. "Really?"

Nami took measured breaths. "Baka."

But Zoro wasn't listening to her. He straightened as he gazed around the dark cavern. His eyes moved from the downed bounty hunter to the hallway decorated with symbols that lay beyond. He looked back at the huge gate that had lowered behind them. "What did you do to get in this mess?"

Nami clenched her hands into fists. She would not hit him; he had saved her in the forest and had come to help her here. Nami closed her eyes as she repeated the statement over in her head. She breathed out an angry sigh. "I didn't do anything!"

"Gates don't just close by themselves."

Nami slapped the ground. "This one did!"

Zoro glanced at the gate again, hand rising automatically to rub the back of his head. The swordsman's eyes squinted as he winced at the contact. Nami saw the motion and her anger faded as quickly as it had arose.

"How is your head?"

Zoro shrugged. "Fine." His eyes flicked down at her. She felt his gaze rake over her body. His eyes focused on her shoulder and then her ankle. "You?"

Nami looked down at the ankle in question. The area surrounding the joint was swollen and the skin above and below her ankle had undertaken a slight purple hue. "It might be sprained. Chopper would know for sure."

"Where is he?" Zoro tilted his head. "Actually, where is everyone?"

Nami sighed, tucking her hair behind her ear. "You, Luffy, Franky, Brook, and Chopper all wandered away while under the effects of the pollen. Robin, Sanji, Usopp and I figured out a way to use the island's pink flowers to nullify the pollens effects." She gestured to the pink smear that was still on his lips. "And then we went out to find you guys. Usopp went after Luffy. That was when I was attacked. I don't know if Sanji and Robin were able to find anyone."

Zoro nodded and turned back to the gate. He pulled a katana smoothly from its sheath. "Let's go find the others then. When we find Chopper, he can take a look at that ankle."

Nami leaned back. Zoro's sword flashed in the dim light as he approached the thick gate.

I don't know if it was noticeable, but I wrote Kikori and his "dog" as allusions to the tale of Little Red Riding Hood. I was looking to make him a dark perversion of the classic woodsman character that appears in some versions of the tale. I made the comparison most obvious in this chapter. I've noticed that One Piece tends to make allusions to classic stories or tales, so I've been trying to add a few allusions of my own :)

Anyway, thanks for reading! Hopefully the words will flow freely as I work on the next update.