Original characters © Eiichiro Oda. Creative story © shipfiend. Cover art © gg-xx on Tumblr.

Nami did not like her schedule being changed on her. Luffy usually just sent her a docket of things they needed to cover, for Zoro to shoot and for her to write about, but let them go to their own devices. However, to have the plans change midway in their travel was annoying.

Zoro had fallen fast asleep in the moment they got in the car, so it was up to Nami to figure out where they needed to transfer. It took her forever since they were in a quite remote part of the Japanese countryside. With her better translator practically dead, she channeled her inner studious Robin and tried her best to figure out the kanji all around her.

As the taxi bounced up and down hills, Zoro was still quite asleep. She could practically blame herself…she did keep him up all night long but that did not explain why Zoro suddenly was desiring to sleep throughout their entire trip. His anger mood when they first got to Japan was muted now, and he usually distracted himself from it with sleep…or her.

The taxi pulled to a stop and Nami fished out her map as she looked around her. They were in the middle of a small town, nothing fancy or big. Luffy did not even explain why they needed to be here in his email, so Nami did not have much to advise Zoro on. However, as the driver smiled at her, she understood they reached their stop.

She got out and pulled Zoro out. He rose with a yawn and walked out, sunglasses still on though there was not much sunlight. He helped her get their stuff out of the trunk and as the car pulled away, dust billowed to their faces.

"Alright, Nami…what the hell am I shooting?" he said with another yawn.

Nami walked on, which meant Zoro had to carry their things, per usual. He groaned but shuffled behind her. She looked at the map intensely as she heard him trudge along.

"I honestly don't know…we're in this tiny town of…of…Sh-shimot-suki Village?"

She heard the bags drop behind her and looked to see Zoro staring at a minimart. It was nothing in the larger scape of things, but Zoro just stared at it through his glasses, his head high as his fists shook.

Nami called for him, but he did not hear her, so she walked back to him and pulled his arm and Zoro spoke to her in the coldest tone, "Why the fuck are we here?"

She was taken aback and fumbled for her phone, "Um, Luffy-"

"Wrong!" He hissed, "Luffy would have never brought me here."

Nami frowned and did not appreciate his accusation. "Well, the email-"

"This some fucking game to you, Nami? You like fucking with people? Huh! Is this what you wanted?"

Zoro tore off his glasses and his pupil looked at her with such a terror that Nami suddenly hugged herself in self-defense.

"I don't know-"

"The fuck you didn't!" Zoro shouted as he dropped everything and walked away.

Nami did not know what to do for a few seconds, but her legs moved again, and she called after him, "Zoro! The hell? Wait!"

As she grabbed his arm, he spun around and practically knocked her off her feet. "Leave me alone."

Nami did not know what was happening, but he was scaring her and, so she stood where he left her and watched him walk away, his glasses back on his face and his head low. Nami felt the tears rising, out of nothing but confusion and fear. It suddenly dawned her that she was in a strange place, all by herself, and that for some reason…they should not have been here. As she sniffled, she rummaged through her bag and found her phone. She dialed with flustered hands and as the line picked up, she shouted, "The hell you do, Luffy? Why are we here?"

Luffy did not have a chance to speak but he registered her worry over her anger. "What happened?"

"You sent us this updated agenda and now Zoro has stormed off…and he…he freaking scared me, Luffy! The hell is wrong with him?"

The silence on the other end shook her but Luffy softly spoke, "Where are you?"

"Don't act like you don't know! You sent me this address! We're in some godforsaken village in the middle of nowhere!"

"What is it called?" he asked calmly.

Nami wanted to scream but she ground her teeth and tried to calm herself, "Shimotsuki Village?" The silence was her response, so she screamed again, "What the hell is there to think about, Luffy?"

"Can you get back home?"

"What?" she said as she stopped breathing momentarily.

"Can you get back to the states? Is there a taxi or train that can take you to the airport?"

She looked around and wiped her flushed face, "Yeah, but…Zoro-"

"Don't worry about him. Just…come home."

She did not like this game that Luffy was playing. Worse, Zoro thought she was playing something, and she was honestly just confused. She did not like the feeling like she was missing a piece.

"Luffy, you better tell me what is happening!"

"Nami," he spoke sternly, and it made her stop. Luffy was rarely serious, but even though it was over the phone, she felt like he was being quite unnaturally calm and firm with her. "Just come back."

She exhaled shakily and said a quick "fine" before slamming the phone shut. It was common for her to fight Luffy, but for some reason, she did not feel like she has to ability to challenge him on this. As she went about finding another mode of transportation, she stopped in front of the minimart where Zoro had left their bags. Nami stared at it and wondered what was about this building that made Zoro act so…strange. It angered her, confused her, but more importantly, she wanted to find an answer. She looked at the edges and corners of the building and it seemed newer than the rest of the town, but beyond that…she needed to research.

Whether Zoro liked it or not, Nami was going to get to the bottom of this. He did not give her much, but Nami was never one to ask. She took what she wanted…and his past would be no different.

Goshdarnit, shipfiend! I know, I know. All the angst. BUT I do promise they will resolve this...at Christmas time. Let's just say before anyone gets to the mistletoe, someone is gonna get punched. Or. I hope to use this clever line, "I hope you're not allergic to nuts...'cus I'm gonna kick yours up into your throat."

YAS. Cause that was not cool, I mean...I feel like Zoro can be hella scary, and Nami can be too...but in this world, Zoro is a bit still freshly wounded, and who knows...maybe Nami can help him find that bandage...cause any good reltionship shouldn't be one person "fixing" another...but constantly beign supportive of healthy change. Nami and Zoro...they just do that...a bit differently is all.

Haha, okay. Until the holidays babes. PROMISE!

XoXo shipfiend