AN: First and foremost, I want the thank all of you guys for your favs and follows...I was absolutely flabbergasted when I logged in this morning that the number had jumped and to see all the fantastic heartfelt reviews you guys had left. Thank you so much. When I wrote the last chapter, I was feeling sort of down, unsure of myself. I'm my own worst critic but I was blown away by the reaction to it. Thank you guys again!

Theme: Food

Rated: M

Words: 1484

Chapter 36

Nami awoke slowly, feeling as if her head was filled with cotton. There was a deep ache in her sinuses that she usually got when the barometric pressure dropped, when a storm approached. She felt groggy, for a minute thinking she was back on the Sunny and that she should go on deck to check the weather.

It was only when she realized that she was laying against something warm and solid, that she felt the chill of the air and smelled the wood smoke that she remembered exactly where she was.

Sitting up quickly she cast a quick glance to Zoro, realizing she had fallen asleep against him. She felt unsure of herself, awkward, and she was happy that he seemed to still be sleeping soundly.

She wasn't quite sure what it was, he'd seen her at her most vulnerable, never once judged her, and yet, there were times he made her so uneasy without even trying.

It was as if everything in her being was screaming at her that he was getting too close, and yet, somehow, since the whole thing had begun, that wall she'd built was chipping more and more. She was seeing sides of him she'd never imagined, and felt more and more drawn to him, more and more intrigued. Intuition was telling her that it wasn't one sided.

The question was, what was she going to do? Did she take the gamble and see how things went or did she set things straight and end it before it even had a chance.

Nami was one for a good gamble, high risk, high reward had always worked well for her.

As Zoro started to stir, sitting up and stretching, his dark eyes focusing on hers, still full of sleep, she shook her head clear of the thoughts, pushing them aside to puzzle them out at a later time.

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The sun had risen a little higher in the sky, showing it to be late morning. Despite Nami's early symptoms, the sky continued to be clear, though she had a feeling it wouldn't stay that way. Something was off and she knew that a storm could kick up rather fast in this area.

Despite Nami's concerns, Zoro was insistent that they found food, setting that as a priority above shelter for the time being. She'd eventually given in, seeing his point and agreeing, but only after having him drink more of the willow bark tea. He didn't seem to be running a fever anymore but he wouldn't give her a clear answer on whether he was in pain or not either. With little bickering he'd accepted the tea and they'd made their way into the forest.

Nami kept close to Zoro, letting him lead the way but keeping careful track of the path they'd taken. It would be all too easy to get turned around in a forest like this one.

"Forest looks promising, might be deer here, or even boar." Zoro said as he made his way through the under brush.

"I doubt there's much in the way of big game here..." Nami muttered, "If it's a small island, it can't really support a vast ecosystem but maybe..." She shrugged.

"I don't know. Something's telling me there's more than meets the eye here." Zoro said as they continued on. He seemed so different as he moved through the trees, each step careful, his gaze taking it all in.

Sure, she knew he could hunt, survive in various environments. He'd gone hunting on more than one island to replenish their stocks when food was low. Both he and Sanji. He, Luffy and Usopp had gone fishing on many an occasion. Maybe he was seeing something she'd missed.

Zoro had moved ahead and she scrambled to keep up as he moved between two large trees. She nearly tripped over a log in her hurry, on the tip of her tongue to say something to him as she saw him stop, his body tensing. He held up a hand, signalling her to stay silent.

He must have spotted something. Curious to see what sort of animal he'd spotted she moved slightly to see around him, snapping a twig. He shot her a look before glancing back. There was a small clearing before the trees began again and across it, she saw something move, something remarkably well concealed in the forest and high grass.

The sight of such an animal was thrilling but it made her blood freeze in her veins.

The large tiger eyed them from across the clearing, apparently alerted to their presence by Nami's not so careful footfall.

It seemed tense, at least as tense as Zoro, unsure whether fight or flight was in order.

Nami was captivated as she watched Zoro, who'd hardly moved, his gaze on the big cat as it too stared him down.

The tiger let out a snort, it's breath fogging the chilly air, as if he were dismissing them. It moved languidly, fluidly just a few paces and reared up, dragging its front claws almost lazily down a tree trunk, as if the tree were just in the way of it stretching.

She couldn't help but notice, as the two stared each other down, the tension there, but the lack of aggression, the almost respect in the air. It was chilling but mesmerizing somehow.

The tiger eyed Zoro, almost in challenge, as if daring him to cross the line before turning and disappearing, ghost like into the forest.

It was only then that she saw Zoro relax.

He glanced to her and she looked at him with wide eyes.

"That was a tiger!" She said in a hushed whisper. "There are tigers here! Just great..."

"Long as we don't cross that line, we're ok." Zoro said, pointing to the tree. "He marked his territory, the boundary line, and as long as we respect that..." He shrugged.

Nami wasn't exactly convinced. "What if there are more of them?" She asked, her heart racing. "What are tigers doing on an island anyway? There shouldn't be enough here to support them!"

Zoro seemed amused. "You're the navigator, you tell me. THink it's possible that this island connects to a bigger one somewhere?"

It made sense, what he'd said, and like a plausible explanation. "It might be worth checking out...if there's another island, a larger land mass that means..." She smiled, seeing him give her a matching one, as if on the same wavelength.

"That means there might be people." He agreed, motioning toward the trees rather than across the clearing, "First things first, food."

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The fire crackled, sending the most delicious aroma into the air. Nami's mouth watered at the thought of the meal to come.

She'd been unable to watch him clean and butcher the deer, although she'd seen him kill it in a single merciful strike of his sword. Something about the whole thing made her stomach turn and though he'd teased her about it, he'd respected it and done it away from the fire and help gather what he'd told her he needed to cook the animal.

After what seemed like an eternity he finally took the leave wrapped packet out of the fire pit, motioning her over.

The meat was cooked to perfection, falling apart at a touch and they both eagerly dug in.

"Where did you learn all this stuff?" She asked after a while as they continued to eat. She probably looked like a barbarian, eating with her hands but she could care less. Food had never tasted better, though she knew that was near starvation talking.

"Over the years, picked up a thing or two. Didn't always have the money to go into town and eat at the local inn, you know. And Curly brow talks so much that you end up picking up a thing or two."

Nami raised her brows at that, "You guys always fight though."

Zoro shrugged, "Not always. We've gone hunting together more than a few times and he's the one that butchers the meat mostly. I'm usually the only one who doesn't complain when he needs help."

"So you two can be civil." She said amused.

"I wouldn't go that far." He said without missing a beat, but he seemed amused.

They continued their meal, finishing up what they could eat and Zoro began, figuring out how to pack away what they couldn't for later, telling her how they needed to preserve some of it, either by drying or smoking, telling her what he planned to do with the skin.

At some point he noticed she'd stopped listening, giving vague one worded responses, her distraction.

"Something wrong?" he asked, looking at her in concern as he saw her hand pinching the bridge of her nose.

"My headache...it's getting a lot worse. Drop in pressure." She muttered, scanning the horizon. "We've got another storm coming in..."