"Mosshead, where the hell have you been?!" Sanji called as Zoro climbed up the side of the Merry. Everyone was frowning at him. They'd been looking forward to the fight. To see how little Luffy had beaten Zoro. Robin had really wanted to watch Luffy without offending any of the nymphs. She felt bad that she found them interesting enough to study, but she couldn't help it.

"Out," Zoro said, passing all of them without another word and heading to the men's room to change out of his dirty clothes and go to sleep. But it was hard for him to sleep as he laid on the couch. He kept thinking about their fight, and he couldn't believe he spoke about Kuina with a near stranger. But maybe that's why he had. It wasn't like Luffy knew Zoro well enough to judge that kind of story.

Zoro tossed and turned, trying to go to sleep, but it just wasn't happening. Though he didn't want to leave the room. And he really was tired, but he kept thinking about their fight, and how he had actually laughed while they battled. And thinking about the way Luffy moved, like she was weightless. He wanted to see more of what she could do. She was such a mystery. All of the nymphs were.

But he was not going to tell anyone what Luffy was able to do. The nymphs obviously didn't want any human to know of their abilities, and that was why no one ever returned after following the little ones.

He became slightly worried about the rest of Luffy's kind. What if they didn't approve of him and Luffy spending time together, and Zoro went missing? Did they kill who followed them, or did they do something else to get rid of them? He couldn't see Luffy killing anyone, but looks can be deceiving. Luffy had brutally stabbed him to steal a sword after all, though she had healed him afterwards.

Then he thought of the warm smile she gave him, instead of responses like someone who could speak would give. He wished she could speak, but there was nothing to be done about it. It wasn't like she could just suddenly grow the necessities of vocalization.

Zoro eventually fell asleep, and had a dreamless sleep. The other guys didn't bother him, thankfully. They'd bother him tomorrow. There was no doubt.

Luffy ran back to the clearing and collected her things, then heading home to sleep. She was tired from the fight she won again. She wondered why Zoro had told her about Kuina. It seemed pretty personal. Maybe it was because she couldn't really speak back, so he felt safe talking to someone who couldn't really judge, or scoff, or do something rude.

The lights were mostly off when she got home, and she hurried to her bedroom, putting the canteens and basket in her chest at the end of her bed. She was glad Ace hadn't waited up for her. He'd have wanted to ask her all about her fight, and she was tired.

Curling up under her thick blankets, she fell asleep almost instantly. She dreamt about playing tag with Ace and Zoro, and then the two got in a fight, and Ace won. Then she and Ace ran around shouting about how they were the most powerful siblings ever, embarrassing Zoro greatly, making his face bright red. It was a funny sight.

When she woke up, she left her room with a grin and went to bang on Ace's door. He opened it, looking at her sleepily. "What is it?"

"I won again," Luffy said smugly. "I disarmed all of his swords, and then pinned him to the ground. I'm so happy I won again! He was really nice afterwards, too. He told me about his sword's story. Then he got all tired, so I brought him back to his ship," she explained.

"Where did you go?" Ace asked, feeling a bit uneasy.

"That practice clearing I used when I was first training," Luffy replied. She frowned at Ace's upset expression. "What's wrong?"

"You went to a very secluded area, without telling anyone, with a powerful human man. Did you think that through? He could have done anything to you, or even killed you, and no one would have ever known! That was a mistake, Luffy. Did you think of that possibility? And you had already beaten him up and stolen something important. He might have still been furious and wanted revenge." Then he sighed.

Luffy looked down, understanding his concern. She hadn't thought that through. "But, I can take care of myself. I've proved that already!"

"Luffy! Pirates and visitors don't know our history! They don't know what we can do to them. They might kidnap you, or at least try. They could throw you in the ocean, and you wouldn't be able to explain anything to them, or call for help. Even though we are strong and powerful, we are still disadvantaged. You know that. Anything could happen to you being alone. That's why we stick together in groups. Tell me you understand what I'm saying," Ace said harshly.

"I understand… I just felt like he wouldn't do something bad to me…" Luffy mumbled, feeling guilty for worrying Ace.

"And what if you had lost? He could have done anything he wanted to you. You know what it used to be like. How girls were treated by human men. That's why we hate them. The things they did to us before we fought back… They are unforgivable. And you have been consorting with a human?!" Ace started to raise his voice.

"But he wasn't someone who had treated us like that! He wasn't even born when that all happened. You can't blame him for something he didn't do. That's just not fair… And you know that, don't you?" Luffy countered, becoming defiant. She just knew Zoro wouldn't do anything, and that's why she never considered something bad like that would happen.

"I know that, but it's still dangerous. Especially because he's a pirate with a high bounty."

"Chopper is a pirate, and you like him. Why would he sail with pirates who are terrible? Just because Zoro looks grumpy doesn't mean he's a bad guy!"

"Luffy, why are you defending him so strongly?" Ace asked. "You met two days ago, and for half of that time, he was furious with you or didn't like you in the first place. Just because you had some important, tiny conversation doesn't make him your friend or anything. Just because he's fun to fight with doesn't make him your friend either."

Luffy looked down at her feet. She nodded once and sadly walked away from Ace, her bottom lip sticking out with a deep frown. Zoro probably doesn't want to be her friend in the first place. And he'd be leaving soon, so why would she want to be friends with someone who would leave so soon. They only liked fighting together, and that was it.

But Luffy was okay with that, because Ace was right. If Zoro were to move here, that would be different. She wished he was a nymph like her. So he could understand her and they could be real friends.

She went to Makino's room and knocked on the door.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Makino asked, seeing Luffy's depressed and deep frown. She opened the door wider to let Luffy in.

"Will you go to the library with me? I just feel like staying home today…" Luffy mumbled. Makino looked at her sadly. Something happened.

"Sure. But let's change," Luffy's sister said. Luffy nodded and left to her room to change out of her pajamas. She slipped on clean shoes, and met Makino in the hall. They walked out of their home and to the tree entrance.

It was still early morning and there weren't that many people out. The library was also pretty much empty except for a familiar looking woman standing in one of the isles, looking at the books about the history of the island. You could tell she wasn't from around here because humans rarely read those books.

Luffy paid no more attention to the woman as she and Makino walked to the fiction section. Once Luffy picked out a couple books, some she'd already read, she left the library, still looking down. She was gonna spend the day in bed. She was in no mood to socialize.

Zoro woke up to the sound of Usopp dropping something heavy, with a loud "Oof!" accompanied. Zoro looked to the side at him in irritation, but Usopp didn't see. Zoro sighed, not feeling like going back to bed. And he was hungry. Last night was pretty intense, so of course he was starving. Love-cook better have made something high in protein.

The swordsman changed clothes and put his swords back to his hip, stopping slightly when he saw how dirty the scabbards were. They had been on the thin, somewhat dirty grass last night. He'd clean them later. Then he gave a soft smile thinking about how much fun last night was.

They had five more days till they left. Suddenly, he felt sad about that. He hadn't had a battle that made him laugh in a very long time. He'd smiled - well, smirked, or gave a creepy grin, but not laughed.

He was silent all breakfast, distracted by thoughts of leaving. He didn't even jab at Sanji through the whole meal. He didn't notice that everyone was looking at him strangely. Robin was smiling knowingly at him a bit as she sipped her coffee.

"So how did the fight go last night? Did she kick your ass again?" Nami asked. Zoro just nodded, no real expression on his face. Nami frowned at this; something was up with him. "What was the fight like?" she asked, trying to get information out of him about why he was acting all distant like this. She wanted something to hold over him so she could up his ever growing debt.

"It was fine," was all Zoro said. But he had a small smirk on his face as he said this. "She's pretty strong. And fights dirty," Zoro said, thinking of Luffy throwing dirt at his face.

"What do you mean?" Usopp questioned.

"I mean throwing dirt in my face and yanking weapons away and throwing them behind me," Zoro elaborated, surprising everyone that he wouldn't just grunt as an answer.

"Well, she doesn't seem that strong if she couldn't cut you even once," Usopp commented. Zoro frowned. He didn't like him calling Luffy weak, but he didn't want to tell anyone about what her powers were. No one knew for a reason, and he wasn't going to mess it up. Some on this crew couldn't keep their mouths shut (Usopp).

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Robin interjected. "Remember the first time she defeated Zoro? It was clear he had had wounds from the copious amount of blood that was on his clothes, but there were no wounds when we found him. They can most likely heal themselves or others. That would be the most logical answer." She sipped her coffee again, watching Zoro's expression.

He looked a little peeved. She could understand. He didn't want others to know what Luffy could do, since the nymphs hid their abilities from the humans as best as they could.

"Isn't… it isn't scary to be around her? She could kill you, or whatever they do to get rid of people, easily," Usopp asked.

"It isn't scary being with her. Besides, I don't really think she'd just kill someone without letting them put up a fight," Zoro replied, finished with his food.

"But she is violent, right?" Nami questioned, wanting to know more about Luffy. Zoro didn't get interested in things easily, but this seemed like an exception.

Robin answered before Zoro. "Nymphs are not violent. There is no proof that they kill those that follow them. They only defend themselves against threats. And as for the missing followers, for all we know, they could just make them go somewhere else. And just because Luffy likes to fight, does not mean she is violent. She has most likely healed Zoro's injuries as well.

"While I did see her look somewhat angry and threatening, I assume it was only because Sanji was getting in her way while she carried something that she didn't want to drop. I know Nami would react the same way," Robin finished, looking over at the other woman.

"But Nami would have hit Sanji if he did that. Luffy didn't. She's nice!" Chopper said. He wasn't trying to be rude to Nami, but she scowled at him anyway.

"Yeah, Nami seems more violent than Luffy," Usopp commented quietly. But Nami heard it and reached over to punch his head. "You see!" Usopp whined, leaning away from her.

"I am not violent, I just like discipline," she said, crossing her arms. No one disagreed out loud.

"So are you gonna see her again today?" Chopper asked. He wondered if Luffy would be his friend, too.

"Don't know. It's not like we made plans or anything. We didn't really talk at all, anyways," Zoro replied. The others frowned. The nymphs couldn't possibly speak.

"How did you talk to her?" Sanji questioned. Zoro responded that she wrote on a paper. "Do you want to see her again?" Sanji asked, sounding a bit teasing, but was surprised, like everyone else, when Zoro answered truthfully… with a slightly red face.

"...Yeah…" he said softly. Nami and Robin giggled. Usopp and Chopper looked confused and Sanji looked angry. He recognized that look, and Luffy could do so much better than Zoro.

"Do you liikkeee her?" Nami asked, her hand in front of her mouth to stifle giggles at Zoro's expression. His face was red.

"No," he growled, sounding angry. "And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. You'd probably blackmail me somehow. I'm going out," he said, jerking the bench back, making Chopper and Usopp almost fall off.

"Don't get lost," Nami called as Zoro left the room, slamming the door behind him.

As he walked through the town, he couldn't help but look at all the nymphs, trying to unconsciously find a certain one. But there weren't many out yet. It was early after all. But why did everyone act so weird this morning? And tease him about liking Luffy… he couldn't even talk to her! Well, not that he talks a whole lot himself… but that wasn't the point. Plus, they were leaving in five days, it's not like a… relationship (he shivered at the word) could work in such a small amount of time. And he'd probably never come back to this island and Luffy would never come with them - not that he wanted her to! He only liked her because she could fight well. That was it!

"Ugh…" Zoro sighed, sitting against the same tree he had the day before. He didn't like this. He kept thinking about Luffy, and that smirk she wore while she fought that reminded him so much of himself. How he looks when he fights. He wanted to see her again today…

Zoro napped at the tree for a few hours, before he woke up to a bunch of little people eyeing him. He jerked up right and stood up. Their eyes followed his face. Well, the side of his face. No… his ear. They were looking at his ear? Then he remembered Robin say no one wears jewelry anymore, and touched his golden earrings.

"Uh, bye!" he said, and ran off, feeling thoroughly embarrassed. But he didn't want to piss them off by being rude. None of them followed, though they all looked slightly disappointed. They were swinging and looked really pretty.

Zoro was somewhat surprised Luffy hadn't stolen his earrings yet. Hadn't yanked them out and then healed the wounds over. He wandered around for a while, getting further and further away from the town, until he was on a trail going up higher to the mountainous area, in the middle of the island.

He wandered for a few hours before he heard rustling, and saw some nymphs running around 30 feet away, either ignoring or not noticing the green haired human. He didn't pay much attention to them, not wanting to piss them off or offend them.

The three playing did notice him, but he was heading in the opposite direction of their home entrance, so they watched him until he was far enough to not be seen or heard. He was probably lost, but who cares? As long as he stays away from their favorite places, he is free to be lost and wander endlessly.

Zoro couldn't deny that the forest was beautiful, with spots of sunlight making it through the thick foliage above the grassy ground. He saw a few rope swings on some of the bigger trees hanging off of high, thick branches. He wondered if Luffy played on them. Then he blushed a little, and sighed at the heat he felt flood his face.

The swordsman hadn't noticed he was unconsciously looking for Luffy, wanting to see her again… but only to fight! That was it. Stupid crew, asking these stupid questions making him feel weird. Zoro stopped wandering and sat down at a sunny spot. He knew he'd have a hard time finding his way out, but that could wait for now. For now, he wanted to escape his weird thoughts. But that's not what happened.

~x~

Luffy was standing on the railing of the Merry, looking out at the ocean, like she'd never seen it before. She was so quiet and still that you'd think she was a very realistic looking statue. Then Zoro walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her tiny waist, pulling her away from the railing and spinning her around.

She made little sighs that shook her body; silent laughter. Then Sanji came over and took her hand to kiss it. Luffy pulled her hand away awkwardly, set down on the ground for Zoro to punch Sanji across the face.

"Don't you touch her again! She's mine," he snarled. Luffy blushed and gave a small smirk behind him as she watched Zoro pull out his swords as Sanji brought his leg up.

The scene changed and Luffy was sitting on the railing of the Merry, looking at the ocean again, like she was searching for something on the empty horizon. She was completely engrossed in the peaceful view, punctuated by a dolphin or seal once and a while. Usopp was messing around a little ways behind her with his weapons. One of them exploded, startling Luffy. She jolted and slipped off the railing, falling into the ocean with a small ploop.

Nobody noticed for a few seconds before Chopper started screaming about Luffy calling for help, and that she'd fallen into the water. Robin screamed at someone that she couldn't swim, and Zoro dived under immediately, looking for Luffy in the unnaturally clear water.

She had latched onto the side of the ship underwater with a metal claw, her eyes wide and she was panicking. She couldn't bring herself up, and started to lose her grip. But then Zoro was there, grabbing her around the tiny waist and swimming up with her. She was almost weightless in the crook of his elbow.

Luffy started sobbing once they got to the surface. A rope was thrown over the side, but Luffy couldn't climb it from her shaking. Robin gently picked her up with multiple pairs of arms and passed her up the side of the Going Merry. Once the nymph was over the side and onto the deck, she curled into a little ball and sobbed silently, making no sound, but her body wracked anyway.

Zoro tried to comfort her, but she ran away from him and to the dock, where Ace suddenly was, holding her as she hugged him and cried. It was as if Ace spoke, when he said, "You could never protect her, human."

~x~

Zoro woke up, startled by the intensity of the dream. And his face and whole body felt hot in embarrassment. He just met her and already he was having possessive dreams about being with her romantically. He gave a large sigh, pulling Wado out of its scabbard and staring at it, wondering what Luffy thought when she looked at it after stealing it from him. What told her about the sword's sentimental value? It was a mystery he'd probably never unravel.

And the last dream was just disturbing. He didn't want to think about it again.

Looking up at the sky, he sighed one more time and tried to find his way back to the town.