It had been a whole day into their journey. Zoro sat down on the grass reading the book. They haven't bothered her to let her focus on this but now they needed some answers if Zoro had them.
"So, learn anything?" Sanji asks setting down a drink for her to stay hydrated while she sit in the sun reading.
"A lot." Zoro answer not looking up.
"Like what?" Nami asks as she and the others get closer.
"This isn't a book but a diary." Zoro answers.
"Whose?" Usopp asks.
"Nina's brother. He loved his sister, looked up to her so when she was disowned by their father he was a little upset but before Nina left she told him to take care of them, to not be too mad at their father. He just didn't understand fully. He made sure to keep in contact with her throughout her travels like always. He was happy that she didn't seem upset anymore."
"Is that all?"
"Yeah, for now. He's now just talking about his own girlfriend who understood him. She was like him. Her older brother fell in love with another man and was also disowned by his own family. It's not exactly the same as her family wasn't rich like Nina's was. They were just random people. But they were able to connect because of that. Especially when they told each other that they still contacted their disowned family members. They even helped each other write letter to their siblings. He did express how sad he was that they got the families blessing, both their families while their siblings couldn't. But both siblings and their lovers expressed in letter that it was best this way. Both free and traveling with no one telling them what to do." Zoro looked up at them. "Kind of like us." Zoro said with the sweetest smile. "They were all happier, as sad as it may seem that their family wasn't truly involved." Zoro says taking her drink in her hand. It was warm.
Zoro sat there eating and reading. It was something very un-Zoro like. It didn't help that Zoro didn't mind that Luffy kept taking food off her plate, she seemed really engross. The rest of the crew didn't really mind, it was just weird to see. But it was better than her falling over and going into a coma. And if there is something in those books that will help then let her read it.
"Anything new?" Nami asked, just curious now. Zoro just shook her head. She looked up from the diary looking at her food.
"He got married and they're happy. But he does talk about how his father is getting rather strict. It seems what Nina told him really upset him." Zoro says taking a few bites from her plate.
"You did say that her father wasn't happy about Alex." Usopp says. Zoro nods.
"Exactly what happened?" Brook asks curiosity gnawing at his bones.
"Well it was after almost a whole year of Nina and Alex dating when Nina got a letter from her father. She's been gone bounty hunting for so long that they all missed her and want to see her again. She thought it was a good idea and it would have been a perfect opportunity to let them meet Alex who knew that she sent letters to her younger brother. So she send a letter telling them that she'll be back but she didn't tell anything about bringing a friend, even her brother didn't know but he did get a hint something good happened."
"So it was a surprise?"
"Yeah. They traveled there and at first it was fine. Welcomed with open arms, only because they didn't think they were dating but after dinner when they were relaxing in the family room they let it out that they were dating. I think the family were too shocked to say anything so they didn't say anything and Nina and Alex took that as acceptance and went to bed."
"But they didn't accept them."
"No. In the morning, while eating breakfast it was quiet. No one knew if it was a joke or if it was dream or not. Her brother brought it up, asking how long they knew each other and when they got together. Her father snapped after that. Standing in his seat and yelling she must be joking."
"She must have been upset, both of them." Nami says, eyebrows furrowed.
"And understandably so." Robin adds.
Zoro nods, "they both were. But in that moment Nina had a realization. She's been following in her father's footsteps since she could walk. Everything she did was so her father was proud, was so that she could be like her father. She snapped and told him off. She's not him, she didn't really want to continue the family business and that she was happy with how things were. She told him she was happy. He threatened her. Told her to break it off otherwise she was no longer welcome as part of the family and she was no longer a Lockheart." Zoro pauses to grab some more bites. They all knew how this ended but they were curious. "She was oddly fine with that. So she said fine, grabbed Alex and went back to their room. They packed and as they were about to leave her brother talked to her. She gave her brother her blessing to do what he wanted, if that was to take over the company or not. Told him to be happy. As she and Alex left her father yelled and yelled, she turned and faced him and told him that she would rather be happy without her family than be with her family and be miserable."
"That's sad but she's happy." Nami says.
"I can't imagine that." Usopp says. They all shook their head but Sanji. He could understand a little. He was different from his family, he left the first time to get away from his family but the second time he left his family was so he could be with the people that actually cared for him, the ones that he actually loves. To be happy.
Sanji looked at Zoro sitting there turning the page in the diary as she put the fork of food in her mouth.
It became late and everyone headed to bed. As the weather calmed they knew that they were close to the island. Zoro wasn't ready to sleep yet, she was really enjoying reading. It was never really her thing but she understood why Robin loved to read. She didn't want to wake anyone up so she sat herself in the library. It was calming to sit in an empty room at night with the light on as the Sunny bobbed with the waves like a rocking chair.
Zoro was so engrossed in reading that she didn't notice Sanji walking in. Sanji set a tea cup down next to her shocking her. She looked at the cup then up at Sanji. "Cook? Thanks." She says as she grabs the cup. Sanji sits down enjoying the quiet as he smoke.
"Anything new?" He asks.
"No."
"What's happening now? In the diary." He clarifies. Zoro nods then looks at the open diary before looking back at him.
"Nina and Alex finally got married. They were having trouble finding someone to marry them, it didn't really matter to them, they didn't need to be officially married but they finally found someone and they were both really happy about it. Just in time too because they became aunts to a boy."
"Congrats." Sanji says. Zoro laughed at him. It was really late to say that. Sanji stared at Zoro laughing. Has he ever made Zoro laugh before?
"Also, their father died, the mother passed away long before. It seemed they were having trouble. The mother upset about the way he handled Nina and Alex. She didn't mind after thinking about it. He finally came around but it was to late then." Zoro pauses and Sanji could tell she was a little upset but about what? "I'm getting closer to the time Nina dies." Zoro says. She didn't want to read about how it affect him.
Sanji places his hand on her shoulder, trying to reassure her. "But with this we'll finally find out what happened? Maybe?"
"I don't know. I'm only on the second book. But, it's not like the story will end there. Alex didn't die until five years after Nina. Can you imagine you lover dying and being without them for five years?" Zoro says. She took some deep breaths.
"No, I don't. I don't want to feel that ever either. I've already been hurt in different ways and don't want to add to the list." Sanji says. Zoro nods. No one on the crew has been through the same pain and no one wants the other to feel the same pain either.
"I found it!" Zoro shouts from the library. She has been in there reading. She did take a nap, Sanji had been taking care of her. It was just after breakfast, they were still enjoying the crisp air as they all got ready to do what they normally do in their down time.
Zoro ran out with the diary in hand. She was so excited that she tripped over her own feet falling face first into the deck. Sanji helped her up. And Chopper got close worried, checking her over.
"I found it." Zoro smiled. "Where we are heading over to is a secret island, Alex and Nina found it and made an eternal log pose."
"How is this island a secret?" Nami asks.
"It's in the calm belt." Zoro says taking out a letter from the diary. "Nina said that for some reason the sea kings in the calm belt avoided the island. It's inhabited and Nina said that it became her and Alex's favorite place to be at. When they wanted to be alone, away from the world they would go there."
"If it's inhabited why are we going?" Nami asks.
"Because when Alex died, it took a while but Nina's brother heard this. And he thought it was unfair to them so he got Alex's body and Nina's coffin and buried them there together. Relocating Nina's coffin.
"So that's it?" Usopp asks. "We get the swords to their grave and that's it. We're done?"
"Yes. We get the swords to a place no one would go to and it doesn't cause anymore problems and appeases their souls." Zoro says. "Her brother had wanted to do that. Get their swords buried with them but by the time he got their bodies their swords had been taken and sold."
Zoro stood there looking at the horizon with the last diary in her hand. "What's wrong?" Sanji asks. They were so close to the island, it made Zoro so happy that she could barely contain it.
"It's the swords."
"What about them."
"Her brother tried so hard to find them that when he couldn't, on his deathbed, he asked his son and daughter to look out for them instead. I think they did too." Zoro says.
"Why do you think that?" Sanji asks.
"Because, as he raised his kids he would tell them about Nina and Alex and their story as he knew it. He wrote how fond they were of them. Her story of adventure and love, happiness and freedom." Zoro took something out of the diary. "He gave them this photo so that they could watch out and to remember how happy Nina and Alex were." Sanji took the photo and saw that it was a wedding photo, both beautifully dressed with smiles and they both had their swords. Although the only problem was that they were both blue and he knew that one of them was red.
No way they could have found the katanas with this photo. "They must have tried really hard." If they used this photo it must not have been easy.
"At least now their swords can be with them together." Zoro adds.
Sanji stared at her. This has changed her.
