Just to let you know, this entire story was written at the same time, so I won't be adding chapters. Please read summary and disclaimer in the first chapter. Thank you
Chapter 2

The sun was high as Nami strode outside, unsure of where she was going. This was silly. How could Robin ever think there would be something between her and Zoro? The entire male half of the crew was no smarter than a box of rocks… well, except Chopper, but he didn't count. Like Nami would ever think of any of them in that way. And if anything romantic ever did come up, it would just mean trouble for the rest of the crew. Sure Sanji had his moments of infatuation, but that was Sanji. He was in love with all women.

Nami sighed as she paced the ship. Why was she so upset over this anyway? She rounded the back of the ship. What a joke, she thought as she closed her eyes. Suddenly her foot caught on something and she tripped. Nami's eyes jerked open as she began to fall. She could see the deck of the ship when something grabbed her arm. "Oi, you should really watch where you're going," she heard the familiar, gruff voice scolding her. Nami looked up to find Zoro, who was helping straighten her to her feet.

Oh God, why him? Why now?

"Well, you shouldn't be hogging all this space," Nami stated, motioning to the small amount of walking space Zoro had left. His swords were laid out next to him as he sat down, leaning against the wall behind him. "What were you doing anyway?" Nami questioned, already knowing the answer.

"Taking a nap," Zoro replied. "It doesn't matter anyway," he sniffed, "you had your eyes closed. Who walks with their eyes closed?" He closed his own, already appearing to fall asleep. He expected her to walk away and that would be the end of it.

"Zoro," Nami began quietly. Shit, Zoro thought, what now? Nami kneeled down across from him. "Zoro," she said a little louder, "are you awake?"

"Only because you're here," he grumbled. "What do you want?"

"Ne…" Nami spoke timidly. This wasn't like her. She could feel her stomach turning and her cheeks flush with embarrassment, but she needed to know. "Robin pointed something out to me earlier and I wanted to ask…"

"What," Zoro responded, his eyes still closed.

Nami took a deep breath, "why are you always saving me?" There, she said it. She tried remaining calm, but she could feel her heart pounding in her chest.

Zoro slowly opened his eyes, blinked, and then looked to Nami. "What did you say?" Had he heard her right? Why would she ask something so stupid?

"Why are you always saving me?" Nami asked again, feeling a little annoyed by his reaction. She waited a moment in silence, but fed up, she sighed. "Forget it, this is ridiculous," she said, getting up to her feet. Stupid swordsman, she thought as she turned to walk away, how could I have ever…

"I save everybody," Zoro finally replied.

"What?" Nami turned around, facing at him.

"I save everybody," Zoro repeated. He stared ahead at nothing. "What did you think, Nami?" His eyes glanced up to meet hers. "Did you think you were special?" He didn't like this. What was she trying to say?

Nami felt a sting in her heart as Zoro said the last words "did you think you were special?" She bit her lip as she clenched her fists. "You stupid idiot," her voice was low, "you're usually looking out for me." She sniffed, fighting back her tears.

"Only because you're a woman," Zoro got to his feet and leaned against the wall again. Maybe if he made her angry, she would leave him alone.

"You don't usually save Robin," Nami fought back.

"Robin can take care of herself," Zoro spoke coolly. "You can't because you're a weak little girl." He knew this was a lie. Nami was more than capable of handling herself if not physically, then mentally. Why couldn't she just let this be? Zoro closed his eyes again, waiting for her to leave. Let it be, Nami. Let it be.

Nami hung her head in shame and anger. "Fine, you don't have to save me anymore." The tears began to stream down her face. Why was he making her so mad?

"I never had to in the first place," Zoro retorted.

"Then why?" Nami's voice rose, unable to control the anger now.

Zoro was now annoyed with Nami's prying. He couldn't take this anymore. "Grr… I don't know!" He exploded, "why can't you just leave things alone? You're such a dumb bi…" his voice caught in his throat. Sighing, he cursed himself for almost calling her that.

Nami's eyes went wide with shock. "What did you say?"

"Nothing," sighed Zoro. She heard it.

"No! What did you say?" She was yelling at him now.

"Nothing!" He shouted back. His eyes closed again, "leave me alone!"

Nami was too angry for words now. She wanted to hurt him. She wanted him to feel the pain she felt… Then she spotted the swords still laid out next to Zoro. Not even thinking, she grabbed the sleek white one… Kuina's sword. "Fine!" Nami spat in anger, " why don't you go save the only thing that's important to you in this damn world."

Zoro opened his eyes as he heard her pick up the sword. He looked down at the two. Kuina's was missing. He then looked up to find Nami raising the sword as she reached the rail of the ship.

"And you can drown for all I care!" Nami's arm came to a sudden halt as she attempted to throw the sword overboard. She turned sideways to find Zoro standing next to her. His right hand was locked around her tiny wrist. She tried jerking her hand away, unsuccessfully. Then she looked up to the swordsman's face, preparing to lecture him. All thoughts stopped when she saw his eyes. An immeasurable anger shown in them like the darkness of a bottomless lake. These were not the eyes of her lazy crewmate, but of a practiced killer.

Nami's breath came in short gasps, unable to take the burning pressure of those eyes. Her left hand began to clutch at his right, trying to pry it off her wrist. "Zoro," she whispered, barely able to get the words out of her throat, "let go." Instead, his grip tightened slightly, forcing her to release his sword. He easily took it with his left hand, his expression unchanging. "Let go," Nami repeated again. The tears began to well up in her eyes. He pulled her in close, never releasing her wrist. She tried pushing away from him, but his body was as solid as stone. Realizing she was trapped, she became uneasy. She didn't know this Zoro. Was this even Zoro?

He leaned down towards her ear. She felt his hot breath on her ear and neck. Why is he breathing so hard? What is he going to do? Finally, he spoke. "If you ever try that again," the swordsman growled through his teeth, "I will not hesitate to throw you off this ship." Nami cried now. The cold words kept her focus away from the heat coming off his body. "Understood?" Zoro asked, waiting for her confirmation.

"Ha… Hai," she cowered against him, wanting to be held. He wouldn't allow her the comfort or satisfaction.

"Good," he said, letting her wrist go with a shove. He collected the other two swords and walked away. She sank to the deck of the ship with the setting sun. Her tears were flowing freely.

"Oi, jackass, dinner's ready!" Nami hear Sanji approaching. Zoro grumbled something inaudible in response. "Nami – swan," the love cook called out to her, his footsteps coming closer.

Sanji came around to the back of the ship to find Nami kneeling on the deck, crying while she clutched her wrist. His cigarette fell from his mouth as his jaw became slack. "Nami…" Sanji kneeled down in front of her, "Nami, what happened?" He noticed the slightly red mark that ran around her wrist. The outline of five large fingers could be seen. Remembering Zoro coming from the same spot, Sanji quickly asked, "what did he do?" His face became stern with concern and anger. Crewmate or not, no man had a right to touch a woman in that way. Sanji began to get up, "I'm going to beat the sh…"

"No!" Nami grabbed at his shirt, "please… He didn't do anything." She sobbed again. This wasn't good. It hurt enough that Zoro was mad at her. She just wanted to be held. Nami raised her eyes, looking to Sanji for an answer. "Sanji," Nami sniffled, "hold me, please?"

Sanji stared at her. Then blinking, he complied, wrapping his arms around her. He cradled her as she sobbed, unsure of the reason why. As long as he could comfort her, though, it didn't matter.

Ch 2 Japanese Notes –

Ne – is usually used at the end of a sentence to mean "right?" or "you know?" In responses, it usually signals agreement or understanding. In this context it's used as an intro to a discussion.

Hai – "yes"

Nami – swan – "San" is the equivalent of "Mr." or "Ms." in Japanese. Sanji always calls Nami "Nami-san" but lately in the anime he'll make it sound all funny, like "Nami-suan" and "Robin-chuan." The whole switching the "u" to a "w" is on my part. I hate romanji in the first place, but I figured if I wrote it out like "swan" you guys would get an idea of the pronunciation.