Chapter 7: Setbacks
Nami slammed the door to her room shut and, with a deep sigh, sat down on her bed. How could this have happened to her? She thought, running a hand through her red hair. She was supposed to notice phenomena like that storm long before the others could. She was the ship's navigator, after all.
Yet since she had fallen pregnant, her reliability had decreased rapidly, or so she thought. She kept falling asleep all the time; and her concentration was turning so bad that now, when she had finished a page in a book, she often had to reread it simply because she had already forgotten the content.
She sighed once more and leaned back against the wall. That condition was unacceptable for any navigator. And after all, the Going Merry was a pirate ship; two of its crewmembers had ridiculously high bounties on their heads. So any of them had to be in perfect mental and physical shape in order to avoid or at least to be able to escape the largest share of trouble.
But the way things were, she was far from any perfect shape whatsoever, and thus not only a risk for the ship but also for her nakama.
"Just what was I thinking…", she cursed herself through gritted teeth, eyes closed.
"Oi, Nami!" a shrill voice suddenly sounded from the outside; and the fraction of a second later, her captain bounced into her room.
The navigator gazed at him in surprise, yet once she regained control of her facial features, she shot him a threatening look.
"What do you want?" she hissed. "Did nobody ever tell you to knock before you enter somebody else's room?"
Luffy blinked at her.
"Nani?" he frowned, obviously seriously thinking of an answer to her rhetoric question.
The young woman rolled her eyes at her slow captain and repeated, annoyed:
"What do you want?"
"Hm, talk!" he declared, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
Nami raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Luffy was not the kind of person to talk a lot. He usually prefect action over words.
"It's not your fault!" he stated plainly.
Now it was time for Nami to blink and utter a low:
"Nani?"
"Zoro said that's what you think", Luffy tried to explain himself.
That Zoro…, Nami thought, inwardly cursing the swordsman, couldn't he just keep his thoughts to himself for once?
"Because I didn't notice earlier, we almost got fried by lightning bolts! So of course it's my fault!" she replied.
"It's not!" Luffy simply shot back.
Nami sighed and unconsciously rubbed her temples to drive away an upcoming headache.
"Luffy, you don't understand…"
"I do!" he interrupted her with a determined voice. "And it's not your fault. It could have happened to any of us!"
The young woman let out a small, sarcastic laugh.
"Yeah, but I'M the navigator, not anybody else."
"Nami", Luffy started, his facial features softening, and stepped closer to his navigator. "You're my nakama, our nakama."
"So what?" she yelled back at him, her voice coming out harsher than she had intended.
Luffy did not seem to notice this however, or simply did not care.
"Nami", he continued, "we are nakama. We help each other. I can't cook, use swords, read maps or make medicine. But when somebody needs help, I do my best to help. That's what being nakama is about."
Nami looked into the captain's eyes, surprised despite better knowledge. After all, when it came to it, he did know exactly what to say, however slow he might be.
"But still…", Nami started, looking away from Luffy and gazing down at her swollen stomach unintentionally.
"No buts!" Luffy ordered with a serious face, but then sprouted a huge grin. "Come on, Sanji's making snacks!"
Thus said, he turned around and jumped off toward the kitchen.
Nami couldn't help chuckling to herself while she slowly pushed herself off of the bed and followed Luffy.
"Ah, there you are, Nami-san!" Sanji beamed at his object of endless affection.
Nami, returning his smile, went over to the table and carefully sat down on the bench. The cook was instantly by her side and placed a small plate piled with various deserts in front of her.
"Oi, you feeling better now?" Usopp asked hesitantly, since Nami's temper had been quite unpredictable lately.
"Mhm", she nodded in reply, smiling, and supported her head with her arms.
"Of course, I talked to her!" Luffy beamed, proud of his achievement and started digging into his plate.
His male nakama eyed him incredulously, half a dozen eyebrows raised.
"Always good for surprises, huh?" the cook said to himself, smirking.
Luffy grinned, yet whether he had really understood would probably remain a mystery.
"Oi, Nami…", Zoro started suddenly, catching the navigator's attention, "dry yourself off, you'll catch a cold." While saying this, he threw her a white towel.
Nami blinked. She had almost forgotten. It was still pouring outside like it had been earlier, and Nami had received her share of the water. Tiny droplets of rain still ran out of her hair and dropped onto the flat surface of the table, producing low, rhythmic sounds. She must have forgotten, being that upset, she explained to herself and started rubbing the towel through her fiery hair.
Then she felt it: a strong kick from inside her stomach.
Again, and again, and again.
Nami sighed and started rubbing her stomach.
"You always wake up when everything's over, hm?" she thought aloud, a small smile playing on her lips.
Her nakama looked up from their plates and gazed at her questioningly.
Nami shook her head and smiled.
"It's nothing. Somebody just woke up and wants to give me a hard time now." She gently patted her stomach.
Instantly, Luffy scrambled over to where Nami sat and lightly smacked her stomach, much to the navigator's surprise.
"Oi, you in there, be nice and give Nami some rest, she had a hard day!" the captain commanded seriously.
Within seconds, laughter erupted in the small kitchen of the caravel.
"Oi, Luffy", Usopp pressed out between bursts of laughter, holding his stomach "it can't understand you, you know."
Luffy scowled at him.
"Of course it can!"
"It's all right, Luffy", Nami interrupted the two men, chuckling, "I've already tried that, and it won't listen. Ever. Likes to keep me up at night."
"But Nami-san", Sanji spoke up with a worried look, "you have to do something! You need your sleep!"
Suddenly, Nami's eyes widened in surprise; yet the reason was not Sanji's suggestion.
"It… it stopped", she said calmly.
The blond cook beamed at her once again, and their captain sported a huge grin.
"Of course, because I said so!"
"Aho!", Sanji spat at Luffy, knocking him upside the head. "That's not why!"
Still rubbing his head from where Sanji had hit him, the rubber boy pursed his lips, pouting.
"That hurt!"
"But he's right, Luffy", Chopper spoke up suddenly, thus drawing every person's attention to himself. "I think it was because of Sanji's voice."
Zoro cracked one eye open and looked from the cook to the small reindeer.
"That shitty cook's voice? Now what's so special about that?" he asked mockingly.
"W…well", Chopper started hesitantly. The swordsman's gaze sent shivers down his spine. "Un…Unborn children are said to react to low voices. And i-in this case it's Sanji's."
The green-haired swordsman snorted while the cook's grin turned wider and wider.
"Isn't that great, Nami-san?"
Not only had Sanji found a way of helping his beloved navigator in a way nobody else could, but he had also made a victory against Zoro. Indirectly, yes; yet victory was victory.
Suddenly, the sound of metal clanking against the wooden floor filled the room as Zoro stood up from where he had sat against the wall and started toward the deck.
"Z..Zoro…" Chopper started. "Wh…where…"
The swordsman stopped for an instant and, without turning around, plainly stated:
"Since when is that any of your business?"
Thus said, he walked off, shutting the door behind him.
The hair on Chopper's neck still stood on end. The poor little reindeer had tried to conceal himself behind Usopp and was now making sure that the grumpy swordsman was out of the room, and it would thus be safe to leave his 'shelter'.
"Ooh, stingy…" Luffy commented between helping himself to various heaps of freshly baked muffins.
"Jeez… what's up with him?" the marksman asked to no one in particular, shaking his head.
Nami, however, frowned, gazing at where Zoro had just left the room.
Could it be…?
That shitty cook…
The swordsman scowled and dug his teeth deeper into the wooden handle of his training weights.
It was always that shitty cook…
Zoro swung the heavy weights up and down in a fast, rhythmic motion; the grip of his hands so tight that the white knuckles seemed to be about to break through the tanned skin any second.
Night had fallen over the vast ocean hours ago; and for about the same time the young swordsman had already been busying himself with hard training. He had still tried to sleep at first, yet his mind was haunted, not allowing him to rest for let alone a single minute. So training was the only logical consequence: if he was not able to sleep, he at least wanted to use all the time he had at hand.
Couldn't that damn cook just mind his own business for once?
The pace of his thrusts increased; sweat was trickling down his neck.
That shitty…
"Ah, Zoro, I knew you'd be here."
The swordsman slowly turned his head to the source of the voice.
"Eh", he grunted, carefully setting down his training equipment. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"
Heels clanking on the floor, Nami walked over to her nakama, silently stretching her tired back.
"Yeah, but I can't really sleep."
Zoro raised an eyebrow and shot her a questioning look.
Nami just shook her head and, softly patting her stomach, grinned.
"The kid's not letting me."
The green-haired man snorted and glanced down at his heavy weights.
"Then why did you come here instead of looking for that shitty cook of yours? I'm sure he'd love to help out."
Upon uttering the words, Zoro immediately ducked inwardly and braced himself. Yet to his surprised, no immediate answer came. No smart remark, no yelling, not even her trademark knock upside the head. Yet then, a different sound rang through the mild summer night's air; Nami was softly chuckling to herself.
"What's there to laugh about?" he barked angrily.
"Hmm… could it be?" she said, still smirking and curiously eyed the swordsman, hand at her chin in a thoughtful pose.
"What is it, woman? Talk!" he spat.
If there was one thing he hated, besides losing, it was to be made fun of.
"Hmm… could it be?" she murmured again, still eyeing him playfully. "Could it possibly be… that the great and powerful Roronoa Zoro is showing signs of jealousy?"
Zoro simply gaped at the navigator.
That woman…
Yet he soon overcame the shock and turned away, facing toward the seemingly endless ocean.
"Jealous?" he smirked "At that shitty cook, huh? Has hell frozen over yet?"
For a few moments, there were no sounds but the soft rustling of the wind in the sails and the mild splashing of waves against the battered hull of the Going Merry.
Then, the redhead let out a small sigh and sat down against the mast, one hand resting on her stomach, the other one rubbing her forehead.
Zoro immediately noticed her pained expression and frowned.
"Anything wrong?"
Nami just shook her head and forced a small smile.
"Naw", she brought her hand back down and started rubbing her stomach. "It's just turning into a bit of an annoyance every one in a while…"
Not really knowing what to answer, the swordsman just acknowledged her statement with a nod and sat down against the railing, resting his arms behind his neck.
Another silence set in.
"Ne, Zoro…"
"Hn?"
"There's really no reason." she said cryptically in her tired voice, yawning.
"Eh?" Zoro frowned and looked at his red haired nakama.
"There's no reason to be jealous really…" she answered, her voice trailing off.
Another silence.
Inside Zoro's head, thoughts were spinning faster than ever before. His face was burning hotter than any inflammation could ever cause it to.
This was just what he hated about women: they surprised you all the time. They were so darn unpredictable… You would think you had figured them out and in the next moment they proved you wrong. So it seemed you could never win against them, no matter how hard you tried. They would always get ahead of you.
Yet inwardly, Zoro smirked to himself. Not that he would have ever admitted it, but sometimes he actually preferred to be proven wrong.
He had just turned around and was about to give her his comment on her discovery when he finally noticed it; the red-haired navigator had closed her eyes, her chest rising and sinking in tune to her low breathing.
Nami had fallen asleep.
Zoro scowled. Yes, pretty darn unpredictable…
He stood up, sighing, and silently walked over.
"Oi, Nami", he tried, gently shaking her shoulder.
But his effort was in vain: the navigator was fast asleep.
Zoro sighed deeply once more as he bent down and carefully settled the young woman in his arms.
"This'd better not turn into some sort of habit of yours…"
Zoro grumbled once more.
He hated it, loathed it, detested and despised it…
Sanji sported a mocking grin as he looked at the swordsman.
"Don't tell me Roronoa Zoro is giving in to some measly shopping bags?"
The blond cook ducked on reflex, for the look in Zoro's eyes alone might have been enough to knock him off of his feet. Yet if it were up to the swordsman, he would have rather bitten Sanji's head off. Bloody, yes, probably, but so much more satisfying…
"Guys, guys…" a female voice suddenly interrupted the men's glaring contest. Nami had walked back to her two male nakama who had stopped dead in their tracks. "We don't have time to be fooling around!" she added, rubbing her temples.
They had docked in harbor early that morning, and since then, had been walking around almost all the time. Many preparations had to be made, heaps of supplies had to be bought; and of course, Nami herself needed her own share 'supplies'. After approximately four dozen clothes stores and pharmacies, Sanji and Zoro were laden with an uncountable number of shopping bags in all sorts of sizes, colors and shapes. It had been a tiring day indeed.
"Hai, Nami-san!" Sanji beamed at the sight of his beloved redhead, instantly forgetting his quarrels with Zoro. Said swordsman simply muttered something under his breath and scowled.
Just as the small group was about to set back into motion, another male voice sounded through the small street.
"Roronoa Zoro, ex-pirate hunter and presently first mate of the mugiwara pirates. Current bounty: 60.000.000 Beli, isn't it?"
The three nakama turned to face the source of the sound, reflexively getting into the individual fighting stances.
"What do you want?" the swordsman shot back, right hand calmly unsheathing his Wadou.
"Oh nothing", his opponent replied smugly. The young, blond man simply grinned at Zoro and pulled two crescent shaped daggers from a leather belt at his hip. "Just your head."
Just one. At least this would be a short fight. No need for any unnecessary commotion.
"Come and get it, if you can", he replied, setting Kuina's trusty sword between his jaws, grinning.
Suddenly, the other man made a small, nodding gesture and within split seconds, the small street was crowded with dozens over dozens of bounty hunters carrying all sorts of weapons.
Kuso…
"I've heard of you, Roronoa Zoro, and I am not a stupid man. I'd rather not take any unnecessary risks." He was still smirking as he added "Men, get him, and take out those other two, as well!"
"No unnecessary risks, eh? Then you shouldn't have come here…" Zoro pressed out between gritted teeth. This did not look good at all. He certainly did not mind a small fight, neither did that cook; but getting Nami into trouble in her current state was nothing they could afford. "Sanji, you make sure Nami's safe, I'll take care of this!"
The blond cook nodded, already fending off the attacking men while shielding the navigator with his body.
The swordsman stormed off for the leader of the group. Once the head of the snake had been taken out, the rest would just wiggle about aimlessly. His katana blades had not even touched by the man's daggers when the blond man fell limply to his knees and then to the floor.
Too easy.
He had felled about another 20 men when he suddenly heard the navigator shout from behind. Zoro spun around, heart pounding in his chest.
The young woman had pulled out her clima tact and knocked out two men who were jumping at her.
That darn cook! What's he doing? He's supposed to…
Then he spotted him: Sanji was on the floor right next to where Nami stood, grabbing his right leg with gritted teeth. Blood was gushing out of a large cut somewhere on the lower part of his leg.
Shit…
"Nami, stay put, damn it!" Zoro yelled. "I'm finishing this!"
And so he fought on, as if in a high fever, slashing body after body blindly.
Witnessing the strength of their opponent, the living remains of the bounty hunters fled in panic, leaving their wounded nakama to die on the cold pavement.
Finally, Zoro sheathed his katana.
"Nami-san, please…!" he suddenly heard the pleading voice of the Going Merry's cook. "We'll get you to Chopper in minute, just hold on!"
At the sound of those words, the swordsman's heartbeat seemed to cease, breathing turned harder and harder.
What the …
He rushed over to where he had left his two nakama, and what he then saw made him almost completely lose his mind: Nami was lying on the ground, unconscious, hand at her stomach, her face paler than he had ever seen it. Right next to her knelt Sanji, worry written all over his face, tears threatening to break free from his eyes.
"What happened?" Zoro asked shortly while bending down to the navigator.
"I don't know really, she…", Sanji had to swallow hard in order to be able to continue fighting against the overwhelming pressure of tears and guilt, "she just collapsed all of a sudden. We need to get her back to the Merry!"
When Sanji was about to lean over Nami to scoop her into his arms, Zoro pulled him back and shot him a hard look, shaking his head.
"You can barely walk, with that wound of yours. I'm taking her, it'll be faster." His voice allowed no talking back.
Sanji hang his head low and nodded, staggering to his own feet while Zoro had already picked up the navigator and was running towards the close harbor.
Just why the frickin' hell had they decided to come for his head that day…
His eyes fixed on the island's port, he tightened his grip on the navigator.
Don't you dare give up on me now, Nami…
a/n: I'm sorry, I'm aware that I said this chapter would be up by Sept. 10 or 11, but due to some.. well.. private problems I was not able to finish this any earlier. Trust me, I sat down in front of this story for quite some time but was never actually able to get anything written.
This chapter turned out longer than intended though, in the end. Especially the last part I planned completely differently. Please don't hate me for the cliffie..
Now a word about the quality of my fanfic: I am aware that I am certainly far from being a good writer. And even though it is true that English is not my mother tongue, this can be no excuse for my sloppy, descriptionless writing style. I sincerely apologize to all of you. It is no good writing, I am aware, and I am glad you still put up with it.
gothywolfie: You like the pace, hm? That's good, I assume. There will be about 3 more chapters to this fanfiction, if everything works out according to my plan. And you're welcome: I love reading your fanfictions, and I think it is only right to let you know!
random crazy person: first of all: I love your email! (could be mine...) And I'm glad to hear you are "kinda glad" about finding this story. But you're right, this whole father thing is getting a bit out of hand. I currently have about 4-5 different scenarios in mind (excluding the possible bad endings) and keep changing my opinion about daily... Thank you for complimenting my portrayal of the pregnancy. It's not an easy thing to do, actually, but I am glad that it comes across the way I intended it.
Illusion of a Lunatic: First of all: thanx for constantly reviewing and putting up with my bad updating habits and writing style! As for kids, I seem to have a tendency to have my fanfiction characters have twins (as in my FF stories), but as for this story, I am still completely undecided (even though there are only about three chapters left).
Iron Clad24: Thank you so much! I'm happy to hear that this little story positively caught your attention. What more could an 'author' wish for?
mushi-azn: I'm glad you liked them! Yes, Sanji's part was a bit short; I intended to have the have about the same length, but it just turned out differently. I do seem to be an author who is controlled by her writing rather than the other way around. Btw: for someone who frequently visits the K-F forums (even though rarely posting), you are quite popular;)
Magus Black: Slow? Yes, that would definitely be me. Thanx for commenting!
CeltiCrimson: Oh it was? Really? Now that definitely is a compliment, thanx! I'm glad you like the chibi Sanjis. And, btw, I know that feeling of having your parents regard you as some sort of weirdo (whenever I watch One Piece, they start commenting on Luffy's overly grown teeth and his lack of eyelashes; and once I fall off the couch laughing about Chopper's "Sugeeee-" they think I've totally lost it...) About the beta-reading: one of my best friends actually asked me if she could do it. She's currently in a One Piece craze just like me. (As you can see this chapter was not beta-read... But she should start working on it from the next chapter on)
Lilosan: Another Zoro addict, I see? Thanx for complimenting my writing, as a reward, here's the update;)
Omnichild: I know it wasn't the best written story (just read the comment on top for my view on things), but I'm glad you read it anyway. And I'll make sure to check out your story once it's up.
DangerousandDemonicDevil: I'm really glad I can actually make people laugh! Curse this sign-stripping system from taking all of my smileys from the a/n.. grr..
Melinda-chan: Yup, true, you will never see this in the original Anime, and that is one of the reasons I wrote it: because I thought it would be interesting to see how it would develop and how people react to it. The "getting drunk" part is, in my opinion, the greatest weakness of the story and I'm thus currently working on a different explanation that would still fit the story and probably make it more believeable (as far as that is possible). I'm hoping you'll find the time to read the rest of the story and enjoy it, too!