A/N: Hi all, thanks for your reviews thus far. I know this isn't a popular ship but just bear with me! I just really liked this idea so have decided to continue on despite people not really being fans :) Anyway, please enjoy for those that read! Also, a lemon or two in here so just be warned!
Her body pulsed and vibrated to the point where it felt like it would rip apart but physically, nothing was happening on the outside of her body.
Absorb, she practically begged to herself, holding out her arms with open palms as her body was pulled around and around inside the hurricane. Absorb, otherwise Zoro will die!
Her desperation to save him was what fueled her now and for once she didn't even wonder what would happen to her.
To Nami's confusion and utter dismay, her body lit up and emanated what could only be described as light. Her eyes widened and the skin on her entire body was bright and then the natural disaster seemed to ebb away quite quickly until she began to fall. It was then that she realised how far above the ground it had pulled her and now it was too late.
She summarised the happenings so far. She was falling to her death, check. She was able to absorb wind, check. She selflessly chose to come into the forest to save the moss head who rejected her, check.
Her face looked above at the sun one last time as tears fell down her face.
Would she see them again?
Would she be able to see Sanji shamelessly flirt with her while passing her a cool drink or snack?
Would she ever see Luffy's stupidity and gluttony? Or when he would sound so serious when someone was being hurt? Or the way he protected those he cared about without question with undying loyalty? Her first saviour...
And Chopper's eyes lighting up when someone said or did something cool; Robin's laughter when Luffy said something simple after giving a fairly complex explanation of something; Usopp's beautifully told lies and his cowardice but then bravely standing up to someone as his knees shook…
The tears….oh the tears, why won't they stop…
Zoro getting lost and she'd bash him over the head at how foolish he was as he tried to make an excuse. Or when he would nap through all the important stuff but then wake up and say something cool and tsundere, only to get hit on the head by her and sometimes, he managed to wake at just the right time to save someone.
His touch...his lips on hers...oh how she wished she could have one more night with him.
She clutched at herself around her torso, feeling herself falling at a more increased speed now.
But just before impact, she heard a grunt and strong arms encased her body as they landed with their back hurling on top of a large tree that had been knocked to the ground from the hurricane.
Nami blinked and looked up at a moss head, earrings dangling as they came to a stop. Although he'd saved her many times in the past, she didn't really expect him to be in a position to save her right then...she wondered how he'd managed it.
Didn't he think she was a freak, now? Didn't he see the way she'd absorbed the wind?
"Z-"
"What the fuck was that, Nami?!" he practically snarled in anger to the point where he was shaking.
He let her get to her feet but then moved toward her. As he towered down at her with narrowed eyes, Nami could only wonder what was going through his mind.
"I-I don't know. I know that I must seem weird to you now but I only just discovered that today!" she explained, almost begging him to hear her out - not that she was the type for it.
Zoro closed his mouth with an angry retort he had ready but decided against it. She looked shaken up and it seemed what had happened to her body had her worried.
"I don't care about the light, I mean why did you let go?!"
Nami opened her mouth to say that there was a voice in her head, but thought he might think her really strange then, so chose her words carefully.
"I lost grip, idiot, as if I would risk my life," she snapped with a huff, folding her arms over her chest defiantly.
Both of them knew that was a lie seeing how she could have avoided the forest all together but she dove headfirst into it anyway.
Zoro decided not to pry any further since the truth would probably come out later anyway and instead shrugged nonchalantly.
As he turned to walk away, she spoke softly and her words caused him to stop for a moment in shock.
"I didn't want you to die."
Luffy yelled out to them when they reached the town centre again and it was then that they saw the crew running toward them. Chopper, Robin, Sanji and Usopp came to a stop behind Luffy as he now stood in front of them with worry in their eyes.
"The hurricane...did it stop?" asked Luffy in confusion - although, his face was often confused a lot due to not understanding a lot of things.
Nami looked to Zoro with guilt on her face but he didn't even seem to care that much and shrugged his shoulders at Luffy as if to say 'I donno'.
Sanji walked forward, cigarette in hand, about to berate the swordsman for being in Nami's presence for too long but was interrupted.
"You!" exclaimed a voice from beside them on the street.
All their faces turned toward the voice to find the old doddery woman from the library looking at Nami with awe.
"You predicted the hurricane…" she spoke, looking at Nami as if revering her, eyes wide as she studied Nami from top to bottom.
Nami frowned feeling quite vulnerable but really...was that such a feat, to predict a hurricane? At least the woman hadn't seen what she'd done in the forest, Nami had thought with a cringe.
Luffy piped up this time and walked forward toward the old lady. "That's my navigator for you, she can always predict storms which is why she's mine, not yours."
Chopper sighed shaking his head at how Luffy had no idea how to read a person at all.
"Navigator, you say young man? You would dare give such a menial task to a deity?!"
All their jaws dropped at her description of Nami and then their eyes looked at their navigator.
"EH?!" they all gasped.
"Deity, you say librarian-san?" spoke Robin first, bringing them all out of shock.
The tall woman walked forward to show her the book she was holding which was the one that Nami had been drawn to when she first told her about the hurricane coming.
"So this is true? The legend in here?"
The lady looked at the title and nodded.
When she opened her mouth to explain, all of a sudden she crumpled to the ground in a heap; lifeless and the colour was draining from her face and hands almost immediately.
What the hell was going on?
Their eyes widened in shock before Nami and Chopper ran forward to help her. A few minutes later after Chopper had finished examining the old lady, his face was forlorn and sombre and trembled.
The sky was darkened with the after effects of the storm and rain began to fall. In the distance, a young man lowered his finger from his temple and looked up at the older man in the Captain's outfit.
"Will Konton be angry about the book?" he asked his Senpai.
He shook his head. "No, because we'll get it back."
A hundred metres down the road, he saw the small talking reindeer shake his head and then the two of them nodded at each other to acknowledge that their work here was done, for now.
Back with the Straw Hats, Nami gasped horrified, Robin frowned in horror, Chopper began to cry but the other four simply were too shocked to even show any kind of emotion.
"Is she...dead?" asked Usopp bluntly, not seeming to understand what had just happened and his knees were chattering together. What if it wasn't an accident?
The straw hats didn't seem to notice the attention they were getting as a crowd began to form around them, despite the rain that fell.
Chopper nodded to acknowledge her state.
"How strange," spoke Robin but mainly to herself, assessing the information so far but then directed her focus on Luffy who stood next to them in front of the librarian's body. "Don't you think, Captain? She was about to reveal some history about this book when she all of a sudden dies?"
Sanji stepped forward, lighting a new cigarette, nodding in agreement. "Very true, Robin-chwan my sweet. And Nami-swan! If anyone could be a deity, I could imagine no other, apart from you of course, Robin-chwan!"
Robin smiled and shook her head. Trust Sanji to try to lighten the mood.
Zoro just stared at Nami and wondered, could what that old lady said be true?
"What was in that book, Robin?" he asked, his eyes over to the archaeologist now.
All eyes were on her now, Nami's too.
Nami could imagine people thinking someone with such powers a deity but maybe it had to do with some Devil Fruit...did she absorb one without knowing? And then she remembered that stone that had hit her earlier which seemed to be a catalyst for her power manifesting...or maybe she was just reading too much into it.
In any case, she would keep that stone, just in case.
Suddenly the town Mayor came into view to the side of them and then it was time to leave.
Once she navigated them toward the next island, according to the log pose (thank god they only needed less than a day to absorb enough magnetism into it), it was pretty much smooth sailing.
Even her body told her that there were no storms.
Night had now fallen and the stars and moon lit up the sky. The cool night air hit her bare arms with goosebumps forming and the faint wind blew through her hair, causing it to fan out around her beautifully. Her mind kept wandering back to the hurricane and how her body had absorbed its power, like food almost. She remembered feeling powerful and strong afterwards, like she'd just had a hearty meal and wondered what that actually meant. The words in her mind at the time were accurate since they said to imagine she were consuming a meal.
Could she somehow harness it to unleash or was that her power? To simply absorb energy?
"Nami," came Usopp's voice from behind her. "Crew meeting."
The navigator nodded and followed him into the main room, above the ladder.
Once inside, all eyes were on her instantly and it was then that they were crowded around Robin whom had a book open.
"According to this, there used to be deities that roamed the world. They were mainly elementals but some had other interesting abilities that didn't necessarily include the manipulation of the elements," explained Robin, now that Nami was present.
The navigator took a seat where Chopper usually sat to make his medicines, however, he was preoccupied with Robin's book over in the corner where everyone else was, save Zoro.
Nami remained silent and simply wanted to listen.
"This book seems to explain a bit about elementals and the elements they can command, such as Earth, Water, Fire, Wind and Void. Usually one deity would harness but one element with only the most powerful being able to manipulate two. But, it also speaks of swordsmanship."
Zoro suddenly perked up from his spot in the corner, facing Nami's side, where he'd been napping. He opened an eye to glance at the others with an intrigued expression.
"Oh, Zoro-sama, do you know of the swords of the deities? From what they say here, it sounds as if their powers are translated to 'sword'...whatever that means," spoke Robin thoughtfully, her eyes still scanning a page.
The swordsman shook his head in confusion. "No." His eyes found Nami's but she looked away quickly, instead focusing her gaze on Robin.
"Well, when they refer to their power as 'sword', they are talking about when they battle but when they are roaming the land to find a place to call home, which seems to be their main goal, they say 'their sword follows'. Unfortunately it's in a language I only skimmed over throughout my years of travel so I'm finding it a little difficult to fully translate it," spoke the archaeologist but her eyes were apologetically looking at Nami.
She shook her head. "It's okay, Robin, I'm sure we'll figure it out. That woman was talking nonsense anyway, I mean, I feel bad that she died but if I were a deity, wouldn't I be more powerful than even Luffy? And that's just not possible," frowned Nami which in turn, caused the rest of them to begin to laugh too, shaking their heads. "Imagine my bounty!"
Loud laughter filled the room as they held their stomachs, slapped their hands on their knees and used each other for support as their laughter infectiously caught Nami too.
Except for Zoro. He folded his arms over his chest again and nodded off but somehow Nami felt like he was faking it - as he tended to do often (mainly to shirk responsibilities).
"And it's not possible to become more powerful than the almighty Captain Usopp!"
"Shut up, idiot!" snapped Sanji, slamming his fist on top of Usopp's head. "Nami-swan, you'll always be my deity!"
The crew then began to fall into an easiness that was befitting of them with Usopp proclaiming to be the 'second' captain and Luffy protesting and causing them to have a small fight which landed Luffy's fist through the wall. Robin's Hana Hana no Mi power activated as she kicked them both out so that she could continue to work on translating the book. Chopper took his seat as Nami decided to call it a night and explained that she would firstly check they were on course.
Standing on the bow of the ship again, on the right side of the figurehead of the sheep, she looked at her log pose to find they were still heading north.
"I think we need to talk now about what happened."
It figures that he'd come to talk to her, just as everyone dispersed, so it was just them on the deck and the sea.
"I told you, Zoro, my hands slipped. It was an accident-"
"It makes sense, you know," he interrupted quietly; his footsteps getting louder and the 'clunk' sounds of his swords banging together as he walked.
She didn't turn and didn't answer. He was right beside her now, placing his forearms on the edge of the bulwark which allowed his hands to dangle down in a relaxed fashion as his back hunched over the side to watch the waves below. His head moved upward to look at the night sky ahead of them.
Nami watched as his earrings moved and the reflection of the stars off the small bits of metal caused it to glint. She couldn't help but wonder what they felt like and why he had them because no one had ever asked.
"They say deities are beautiful creatures that were often the subject of worship or the precipice of war."
Her eyes looked up at him now in wonder. Most of the time he annoyed the shit out of her with his stupidity but then sometimes, he surprised her. He turned to look down at her now, his expression serious as his face began to lean down toward hers.
"Maybe that's why I find you so damn beautiful, Nami," he whispered, giving into weakness.
His breath tickled her lips as he closed the gap.
Nami gasped audibly as his lips captured hers for the first time in six months. Her eyes closed and she let him melt into her.
This kiss was so very different to how they'd kissed in their drunken tryst. It was softer, more passionate (in a different way) but also they were kissing without the influence of alcohol, which scared her. His hands had snaked around her body with one arm around her lower back and the other up in her hair and came to rest on her cheek.
But then she remembered his dismissive words toward her that night and she pushed lightly on his chest, causing him to break the kiss. It was like he was coming out of a reverie because the shock on his face was evident as he took a step back, running a hand through his hair.
"I-I thought you said it didn't change anything!" she gasped, putting her fingers to her lips with a glare.
Zoro frowned down at her. "Well, I meant it! It hasn't changed things and yet...it has. I just...I've only ever thought of one woman and that was Kuina and then in turn Tashigi and then when we'd-"
"Oh I see!" she interrupted, finally showing Zoro the hurt she felt and so it seemed her anger and jealousy was something that caused her feelings to be shown outwardly. "Well don't let me stand in the way of true love, Zoro. I get it, I'm not who you thought you'd be intimate with but we were drunk, right? So you get a pass on that," she snapped.
Nami began to walk toward the door to the women's cabin but Zoro was faster and so he grabbed her wrist to turn her around.
"You know we weren't drunk," he said lowly, trying to order his words better than the last time, pulling her toward him. "I don't see you like that as just the person who was there, I'm just saying it was a shock at the time. I wouldn't have done it if I thought of you as just...any woman, Nami, drunk or not."
Nami wanted to feel relieved and she wanted to believe him. But deep roots of abuse, lies and being used for so long made her very distrustful of people who made claims. Especially men and especially pirates and unfortunately, Zoro was both.
But he's so much more than that and you know it. Curse her pathetic inner self and the truths that it knew.
She wouldn't be hurt, she wouldn't let herself be hurt and so, she had to push him away.
"But you wished it wasn't me, though, right?" It was a hurtful thing to say, but, was it so wrong?
His silence was enough. She could see the turmoil in his eyes which she mistook for him trying to cover up the truth.
"Let's just chalk it up to friends having a good time and leave it at that."
She gave him a smile, one that she'd perfected over the years and turned before he could see her tears. The events of today plus his thoughts about six months ago were just too much for Nami to bear. The navigator wasn't exactly an emotional person (unless you include anger as she seemed to be angry a lot with the Straw Hats and their antics) but it seemed that Zoro could bring that out in her.
Zoro heard her close the door to go inside but he stood there wondering how he could have chosen his words a little better, but then again, he was never one to sugar coat things.
He hadn't worked out in his mind whether his feelings for Kuina and then Tashigi were more maternal, friendship or rival like or whether his admiration was more romantic. It was something he'd thought of ever since he'd slept with Nami and it was tearing him up inside. He tried not to think about it for months on end because it was distracting him from his vigorous training and his goal but in the end, he had to give in because Nami was all he could think about.
Meditation worked for a while but then he'd see her and the memories of that night would come back fiercely. His usual training he could get through but would somehow always stuff up his rep count.
In the end, he decided that he just couldn't really understand women. All he knew was that he was attracted to Nami and that today's events hit home about just how much he cared about her - more than he had previously admitted.
But, this wasn't supposed to happen.
He thought back to the moment her hands left her staff weapon and as she flew into the hurricane with fear in her eyes, it was like his whole being wouldn't function. He was a skilled swordsman and could cut through almost any type of material, but he couldn't cut through wind. And his swords couldn't bring her back if she died and his thought had been (even if it was for half a second), what was the point then? If she wasn't here, what was the point?
That was the thought that rattled him the most because for the past six months, his goal was becoming second base to her and he couldn't have that.
Since when did he feel that way? He knew he should have talked about the whole 'deity' thing (because let's face it, it's not normal!) but for some reason that was second priority to these rattling thoughts.
Just what was wrong with him?
"You can get that down to ten berries, I know you can!" exclaimed Nami, frustrated before the vendor nodded his head and relented, handing over the pearl bracelet to her.
Her eyes glinted as she handed the vendor a measly ten berries.
"You're ruthless, Nami," sniggered Usopp, shaking his head.
She shrugged her shoulders. "What can I say? Always negotiate!"
"Nami-swan, I can buy you something, anything your heart desires!"
Nami smiled, placing a hand on the cook's suit arm. "Oh Sanji-kun, thank you," she crooned, fuelling his delusions as heart's began to form in his eyes.
The island they were currently on was vastly smaller than the last, however, the shopping district was much larger with stalls going all the way through town all the way into the harbour. The food district spanned across the harbour and into a fish market and the market further into town had all kinds of wares, including clothing and jewellery. There was but one tavern that was quite popular, due to not having a variety of alcohol serving businesses in the district and so the Straw Hats headed there together when night fell.
"I'm bored," crowed Luffy with a pout, his chin resting on top of the bar counter with a vacant expression on his face.
He ended up with a large lump on his head as Nami smacked him with the edge of an open palm.
"Luffy, I swear to god, if you start a bar brawl again because you're bored, I will ensure that Sanji-kun doesn't serve you breakfast!" she growled in annoyance, causing Luffy to lift his head and gasp in horror.
"You wouldn't, Nami! Are you...a monster?!" he exclaimed comically.
They all shook their heads at the way Luffy thought of food almost more than fighting to become the King of the Pirates.
Nami raised her hand to the barman.
"Can I please have another pint?" she asked, holding out her empty wood pint mug.
The barman nodded and seemed to look her up and down but walked off to fulfill her order. It didn't escape a certain swordman's attention, though as he shook his head saying inwardly 'not my problem'.
Sitting down at a couch area, the Straw Hats made themselves comfortable. It started out as a simple card game but turned into a contest to see who could hit each other with cards in their hands. At first Sanji threw a card at Luffy by flicking it toward him with his middle finger, which skimmed Luffy's nose and then instead of returning one in the same fashion, he held it in his fist and punched Sanji in the nose with it.
"It counts! I hit him with the card too!"
Suddenly a three way brawl between Usopp, Sanji and Luffy began while Zoro just drank on, happily watching them all make fools out of themselves. Robin sat next to Zoro, silently sipping from some coffee as she read a book with a smile on her face.
Nami told them she would call it quits and purposely didn't sit next to Zoro in case it started a drinking competition again and she knew very well how that would turn out. Besides, Chopper, although he said he was happy to do medical research and pre-preparation for his medicine, was all alone on the Going Merry so she would return to make sure it was all okay.
As she walked down the eerily quiet street of Cube Village - a village with cube shaped houses made of hardened mud, footsteps were heard behind her. At first she'd thought Zoro may have followed her but the sound of metal banging together was not heard.
Turning her head she noticed a figure behind her and so decided to stop. Despite the trembling of her body, the first sign of fear, she tried to push through it and faced the person.
"Are you following me?" she asked, squinting to try and make out the person through the dim lighting of street lamps.
As the person walked further toward her and came to a stop across the street she could make out what appeared to look like a Captain's hat with a white feather.
They stepped further toward her, crossing the street and closing the distance between them. Nami's heart beat began to quicken as she reached at her thigh and pulled out her Clima-Tact; assembling it in the blink of an eye.
"Don't you move!" she shrieked, pointing her staff at them. "Who are you and why are you following me?"
The person lifted his hat off, letting it fall to the ground, to reveal a man with handsome features and short, spikey light brown hair and beady green eyes. His facial features were piercing but there was something eerie about him because he held a smile that only a creep could wear, despite having a face of a model, almost. Like he could draw you into a false sense of security before killing you in your sleep. A saber sat on his hip and he unsheathed it, continuing to advance.
"Don't you remember me, wave girl," he spoke as if she was familiar to him. "Nami."
His voice was deep and almost commanding - a voice that you would expect a mentor or older person to possess and yet, outwardly he was young and at a guess, Nami would say he was in his mid twenties.
He wasn't showing any signs of slowing his movements and so she began to push out heat and cool balls from her Clima-Tact but a hand grabbed her wrist painfully. Her eyes widened at how fast the man was and fear began to eat away at her.
"You can do better than that!" he snapped as he squeezed her wrist harder causing her to cry out in pain.
The man rolled his eyes and sheathed his saber.
She leapt up off the ground, round house kicking him in the throat which caused him to let go of her wrist and stagger backwards a little.
"W-who the h-hell are you?!" she gasped in horror as dread and fear began to fill her quickly.
Run. Run as fast as you can, she thought to herself as it always did when there were dire situations as these.
Nami looked up at him now and assembled her Clima-Tact again. She pointed it in the air but the man towered down at her with lightning speed, grabbing her throat this time. One hand was easily enough to wrap around her slender throat and he squeezed.
"When you're close to death, your power will reveal itself since you can't get a grasp of it yet," he said lowly, bringing his lips to her ear and he brushed the back of his other hand down her cheek where the cut from earlier was.
Lifting her in the air with one hand, her legs dangled violently, trying to kick him, and her hands clawed at the one gripping her throat as he began to crush her windpipe. His vivid blue eyes glinted in the street light and held a sinister, unfeeling look to them.
"I'm sorry but this is the only way. I can take away your pain, Nami, just let go. Accept your fate and join me."
But Nami couldn't take in what he was saying because she was almost out of breath and the pain was unimaginable.
"J-just k-kill me, you a-asshole-" she managed to get out when suddenly she heard a voice that made her feel relieved beyond imagining.
"Gum-gum Pistol!" an elongated rubber fist of her captain came whizzing into the side of him and she audibly heard the breaking of bones.
The man slid a kilometer down the street and into a nearby shop but before the same fate befell her, someone grabbed her from behind and she landed with her back on top of a hard chest. Nami gasped for breath loudly and her hands clutched at her now painful throat.
The person she landed on quickly cradled her and when she looked up she found Sanji's worried eyes looking down at her. When she looked up at him she couldn't stop the tears and she clutched at the fabric of his chest, laying her head against it.
"Sanji-kun," she cried in utter relief, feeling his arms wrap around her back as he soothed her.
"Nami," he whispered in shock, dropping his usual 'swan' honorific at the end but he knew now was not the time for jokes as he began to rub her back affectionately and this time, Nami didn't even stop him. "It's okay, we're here now."
She was shaken and judging from her fast bruising wrist and neck, they had been moments away from losing her due to her gasping breaths.
"Nami!" exclaimed Usopp as they came to a stop behind them.
Luffy, Robin and Zoro were nowhere to be seen but the rest of them assumed that they had gone to go and get the beast of a man who would do something so sinister to a girl.
"I-I thought I-I was g-going to d-die," she managed to get out but her voice was hoarse.
Her head was buried in Sanji's chest still, thanking the stars for her friends and even though she always rejected Sanji's advances, he was still a close friend. They all were.
"Who the fuck was that?!" growled Sanji as he lit a cigarette, allowing Nami to get to her feet.
Sanji stood with a wince, knowing that he had probably broken a rib or two, but it was definitely worth it. He dusted off his suit, allowing his cigarette to dangle loosely from his mouth as he surveyed the area to ensure no other people were trying to hurt Nami.
Everyone was feeling pretty pissed off and angry over the situation but she wondered where Zoro was.
Deep in her heart, treacherously, she had wished it were him that had caught her. But then again, that would indicate that he cared about her differently than the others, so she could understand why he hadn't.
Over with Luffy, Robin and Zoro, the Captain mulled over what he'd seen so far.
Earlier, Luffy had come out for a leak and heard a yell or was it a cry he hadn't been sure at the time. He'd called for his crew and they went out to investigate and when they walked further on they spotted the familiar form of their navigator being man handled and then was lifted into the air by the throat.
Monkey D. Luffy saw red and didn't even hold back when he hit the man responsible because there's one thing he didn't tolerate and that was when someone hurt any one of his crew.
And now, he'd come over to find the guy's body but it was nowhere to be seen and he knew he'd hurt him badly because he'd felt all his bones shatter, he was sure of it.
He heard movement behind him but when he turned, he realised it was just Robin and Zoro.
"I swear this is where he landed," said Luffy, scratching his head with a frown.
"Indeed it was, Captain-san, but it seems he lived after that," she said as she looked around the debris and the hole where he would have entered. Some bits of mud and wood fell to the ground next to them and a creaking could be heard.
Zoro stood quietly, watching the two as they conversed about the incident but they wouldn't ever know that his fists were clenched in anger and that he was going to kill that man, who ever he was.
He didn't care what story sob story he had to tell, he was a dead man walking. Maybe it wouldn't be now or a few weeks from now but nothing would stop him from seeing the life drain from the parasite that dared to touch her like that. She was a woman and the man clearly used his strength against her...thirty more seconds she would have died, of that he was certain.
"It's about the collapse!" exclaimed Robin, using arms to hurl Luffy out onto the street as she also jumped out quickly with Zoro on her heels.
The whole building collapsed and they all looked at each other. "How did he survive?" wondered Luffy.
"Oh, Nami," gasped Chopper sadly as he examined her with tears in his eyes at what Nami had gone through.
The most he could do for her was put some ointment on her neck but it was already beginning to bruise with dark purple marks forming around her neck. It wasn't hard to see that they were in the shape of a large hand and even Chopper felt angry about it.
Her windpipes would take a week or so to heal so she could speak again but he advised her to try not to.
"I'll need to talk to the others about what happened though, Chopper," she croaked, getting up and patting him on top of his hat. "Thanks."
The reindeer watched her walk out of the room and out to the deck and wondered what had actually occurred. The others had been pretty silent and hadn't said a word to him except to help Nami. Zoro especially seemed to be distant and broody.
What happened to you, Nami? Thought Chopper.
When Nami walked out onto the deck an hour later, she noted the chill in the air and so figured it must be past midnight. It was quiet, except for the calming sound of waves crashing against the hull of their ship which was still docked on the island. The wind was picking up though, creating white caps on the water and rocking the boat a little more than earlier.
Usopp, Sanji and Luffy had seemed to have gone to bed now, at her insistence earlier, so Nami didn't mind that she was the only one that remained. Robin was in their quarters reading and she hadn't seen Zoro but she figured he was in bed too (or had fallen asleep in the crows nest) but just didn't say anything. It's not like he was talking to her anyway ever since she was nearly strangled to death.
She walked over to the upper deck and climbed up the ladder to her tangerine trees. The smell of them always brought her back to when Bell-me`re used to cook them tangerine stir fries or tangerine pies and tangerine jam, in fact, almost everything had been tangerine based due to their financial situation but at the time she'd been sick of it.
What a fool I was back then, she thought, shaking her head in shame as she laid her head back onto one of the trunks.
She sprawled herself comfortably and dozed off.
"If you feel the need to pick on a girl, make sure she's armed!" exclaimed someone in front of her.
The girl held a sword in her right hand with the sharp side facing down with her arm completely flexed outward. She wouldn't be much older than her, maybe three years, but she was so strong; stronger than she'd ever be.
Nami had been walking down the back way to get to the dock when some older boys started throwing rocks at her. A girl had swiftly come to her rescue and somehow was able to slice the rocks in half!
When she turned, Nami couldn't help but smile in thanks. The girl was pretty with short dark purple hair that only came to her shoulders.
Later on when the bullies had left, the two girls walked down the street laughing.
"They were no match for me."
Nami shook her head. "Nuh uh. You saved me! You're so good with that sword, will you be staying long?"
The girl shook her head. "No. Father and I are visiting to try and spread the word of our dojo and also, my father buys tangerines here for the school because some idiot that comes around to challenge me all the time eats them all! In fact, he eats all our food even though he's not even enrolled!"
Nami laughed. "He does sound like an idiot. Well, your Dad has come to the right place, our tangerines are the best! Say...how do you become so good at that?" asked Nami, pointing to the sword that rested over her back.
The girl smiled. "Practice."
"So, are there many girls at your dojo?"
This comment seemed to bother the girl as she hesitated when answering and avoided her gaze for a moment.
"N-No, just me. You see, it's hard for a girl to be a sword master and so...I hate being a girl."
Nami's eyes widened, noticing her looking so glum and regretful. She'd only just met her but couldn't sit idly by when she was clearly in turmoil. She closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around the older girl.
"Don't frown and just get through it, that's all you have to do. If you can get through it and push on you will win. And always make sure to win against that boy!"
Bell-me`re's words seemed to come to her when she needed them the most and for that she was thankful because it put a smile on the other girl's face.
They broke down into laughter and the older girl let go of Nami to look down at her.
"My name is-"
Nami jolted awake to find a familiar crew mate standing over her.
"You're freezing," he said, purposely turning away from her in an attempt to sound like he didn't care and yet, here he was placing a blanket over her body.
She was a little foggy still, remembering her dream of that person she'd met so long ago which had been only a few days before the Arlong Pirates had invaded their small island. Nami wondered why she had been thinking of her all of a sudden and the memory was still so vivid in her mind.
Nami heard him take a seat next to her; their backs against the same trunk but still didn't turn to look at him, instead, took refuge in the stars above them. Knowing that his arm was an inch from hers made her feel awkward and flushed but she somehow focused on not moving any closer.
She clutched the blanket close to her before whispering a faint 'thank you'.
"Imagine if I were a deity," she spoke softly, her eyes thoughtful and he couldn't help but stare at her.
Moments like these were usually rare for them since he tended to find places away from their violent navigator to take his nap, however, lately he'd look for her and seek her out, unbeknownst to everyone but him.
He wasn't sure if tonight's excuse was because of how she was so violently attacked and therefore he wanted to watch over her or whether he just wanted to be around her for once.
"But mostly…" she began as she finally turned to face him with a seriousness that was usually reserved for the most dire situations "...imagine the gold that people would send me as a tribute!"
Zoro began to sweat just thinking of how Nami would milk that situation and could even see the Berry signs in her eyes.
"Damn witch...and to think I was worried about you!" he snapped, folding his arms over his broad chest.
His eyes were narrowed in annoyance but the feeling seemed to dissipate quite quickly when he spotted her neck. The bruising was much worse now and although she was comically ranting on about the gold she would receive, there was a look he recognised in her eyes.
"-and once we have gold, I will divvy out maybe...five percent to each of you. None of you can be trusted with money, that much is certain-"
"Stop, Nami."
The cold way he addressed her caused her to pause in her ramblings.
"Zoro?"
Nami watched him and saw he was shaking, was he cold? No that couldn't be it...was he angry at her for something? Did she offend him with her selfish ramblings of gold? Not that she cared about the latter, because who wouldn't want gold?
"Just say it, damn it, you're scared aren't you?"
It was like the wind had been kicked out of her lungs and Zoro's foot was the one that stood on top of her, kicking it out of her.
So what...so what if she were scared? Didn't she have a right to be?
"I was strangled and I almost died so yeah, I am! I have a right to be, don't I?! What's it to you?!" she exclaimed defensively, not liking that he could always see what people were truly feeling.
Nami got up from her position as she attempted to get to the ladder a few metres away, but Zoro was already in front of her, blocking her escape and towering down at her.
She wasn't one that liked people seeing her feelings and Zoro was the same but then he always liked to point out other people's.
"I hate when people lie to themselves," he snapped and leaned down to grab her shoulders tightly. "You got strangled, so what? Then get stronger. You're scared? Well, find a way that you feel confident enough to not be scared."
Nami's jaw clenched in anger as she lifted her arms and in a fast motion, pushed them outwards to get his hands off her shoulders. Zoro looked taken aback by her sudden action and then she suddenly lunged forward and pushed him hard.
His back cracked against the nearby railing and a kick aimed at his head came down which he narrowly dodged. She was in a combat position, eying him with fury but it didn't stop the tears in her eyes to be seen.
"You think you know everything don't you?! Just because you're Zoro the Pirate Hunter, well whoop-de-fucking-do, asshole!" she spat as she aimed a punch at his face, lunging forward and sweeping a leg at his ankle but he managed to jump at the right time.
A flurry of quick jabs to his face came at him as they both flew across in front of her tangerine trees and leaves that had fallen flew up into the air as they sparred, well, more like Nami was attacking him and Zoro dodged.
"I never said I knew everything!" he suddenly got out as she ran forward with an uppercut and then turned to back fist him then turned again and bent to her knees to punch him in the gut to which he dodged and blocked each attempt.
"Well you certainly act like it! It's easy for you to say to get stronger but I'm just me. I'm not Luffy, I'm not Sanji-kun or you...I'm physically weak, hence this!"
She quickly pointed to her neck and then ran forward to punch him once more but instead of dodging, he grabbed her wrist, determined to make her see sense. But Nami was also determined; determined to punch the arrogance off his face and so she swung her other fist for it to be caught by his other hand.
"Maybe you are, but you're strong, Nami, in here," he said softly, letting go of one of her hands to softly place his palm above her breast. "And in here."
He moved his hand to touch his index and middle finger to her temple to indicate her brain. Nami looked up at him in awe because he never really spoke this way, at least, not to her. Granted, she never really gave him a reason to when all she seemed to do was nag him or hit him over the head for his stupidity - and he could never forget that she loved to order him around.
Zoro's hand at her head turned to a palm and moved slowly to her cheek and she closed her eyes for a moment when his hand tenderly moved to the back of her neck, pulling her closer.
In the split second it took to lean down to place his lips on hers, he thought to himself:
There's no point resisting now, we're too far gone.
And that was the end of all conversation.
As they explored each others bodies for the first time in six months within the confines of her trees, she wondered what the hell she was doing. Clearly he was still in love with someone else, he just didn't know it.
She barely felt him ripping her dress off and didn't even register when she hastily undid his pants, her thoughts running away from her.
Wasn't she just standing in the way of Tashigi or someone else that was better suited for him? She was a free spirit and always would want to travel to every single island in the world, to map it out of course, and she cared about money whereas he had not much interest in gold, save for a few berries to repair his swords and for basic necessities.
And yes, he was travelling with their crew for now to become the world's greatest swordsman, but, the fact that he was hopeless with directions told her that he wasn't meant for travel.
And this brought her back to why Zoro had initiated a kiss again.
Nami couldn't help but think he was just trying to comfort her after today's events. But why did it feel so good and why did she want more?
She was never interested in love or finding her partner in life...gold and her goal to map out the world had been comfort enough but then why? Why was she thinking about a future she could never have?
A short while later, both Nami and Zoro were slick with sweat as they climaxed. He laid with his back against one of the tangerine tree trunks, his legs sprawled out in front of him with Nami's legs wrapped around him, still moving her hips up and down, riding out the orgasm. Her hands (one bandaged due to a fracture from earlier) were holding his broad, muscled shoulders to balance herself as she quietly moaned; her large breasts bouncing with each movement. Zoro breathed heavily, grunting, his hands still grasping her bottom cheeks tightly and Nami fell across his chest once their feelings of ecstasy had subsided (and as quietly as possible). She rested her head in the crook of his neck as both their bodies moved up and down rapidly, catching their breath.
His hands moved from her buttox (now a little red from his grip on them) to move across her back, pulling her closer to him as they just laid in each others arms for a moment. Her long locks of hair that cascaded down were slick against her back from the sweat and Zoro moved it away from her back, unconsciously rubbing it with one hand moving up and down her spine.
When he sensed her moving, he released his arms as she lifted herself off of him, feeling as his now softening penis slid out of her and instead her body laid on her side in grass, facing away from him. The grass would hide their activities tonight, Nami had thought absently, and then she felt a strong arm encase around her abdomen from behind with the blanket covered them.
Nami felt the warmth of his body encasing hers from behind; could also feel how muscled his whole body was (from rigorous and inhuman training) and his erratic heartbeat and had to smile at that, knowing that a weakling like her could cause him to be in this state.
"I should go to bed. And Zoro...we shouldn't do this again," she spoke quietly but didn't quite move yet.
Silence enveloped them with only the sound of the leaves swaying in the light breeze and the creak of the boat with each small wave that caressed the hull.
Zoro wanted to ask 'why not' but then he recalled their last conversation. He hadn't responded when she'd said 'he wished it wasn't her' but it was more that he didn't have a clue of what to say to that. He hadn't wanted anyone else like that at the time but then he wasn't exactly sure he'd wanted it to be her either and yet, ever since then he'd thought of no one else and couldn't for the life of him understand why.
"I know that I said it wouldn't change anything and I meant it. We are still friends and crew mates; that will never change and hasn't."
His breath tickled her neck as he leaned his chin into the crook of her neck from behind; his lips just touching her soft skin with each movement.
His grip around her flat, slender stomach tightened and she couldn't help but lay her own forearm across his muscled one, linking her fingers between his in the process. She really did like his body and who wouldn't really and Nami knew it was selfish and shallow to think as such but wasn't it okay to admire?
"I know," she responded softly, leaning into him involuntarily.
"And I didn't say that because I didn't want you," he said huskily and then she could feel him rise to the occasion once more.
His lips closed the distance on her skin, spreading feathered kisses along her bruised neck and down to her shoulders which sent shivers and tingles across her body. Her own arousal began to heighten and she cursed him and his touch.
She wanted to ask him what they were doing but the feel of his erection that now rubbed against her lower bottom area made her forget and somehow she'd already spread her legs, wrapping her top leg backward over his hips as she felt his tip reach her entrance. Her head had turned as their lips met, with an arm reached around behind her under his neck, grabbing his green locks in her hand as he slid into her again.
"Fuck, Nami…" his deep voice whispered into her ear as her entrance clamped around him.
Nami desperately wanted to scream his name, she did, but she knew that would just wake the others up. It was bad enough that they were having sex while they were below (being hidden behind the tangerine trees as well just in case) but she'd really be stretching the friendship if she screamed, like she really, really wanted to.
Her eyes were squeezed shut, trying to remain quiet from the pleasure she was feeling and she could tell that Zoro's grunting was being kept to a minimum too as his thrusts began to get deeper and faster.
The feel of him inside her was amazing and she felt his hand on top of her large breasts as they moved across her nipples and then it moved southward, through the lips of her vagina to her clit. It was then that she let out a whimper that she couldn't hold back.
He picked up the pace and then almost growled as he flipped her over, and then he was on top of her with her legs over his shoulders, sliding in and out of her faster and harder than before. The sound of wet flesh against flesh was heard and she could feel nothing but pleasure as her hands bunched clumps of grass in her fists. She moaned but as she began to get a bit loud, he planted a large hand over her mouth with amusement but it didn't seem to deter his thrusts.
He moved his hand away as she silently bit the bottom of her lip to stop her cries. Her hands had moved up to grip the outside of his upper arms and could feel his muscles flex with each thrust and this action alone seemed to send her into a frenzy.
Zoro seemed to watch her closely (because the way she looked seemed to bring him more pleasure as she writhed beneath him) until they both climaxed again; his face contorted and sweaty.
Ten minutes later they had their backs on the grass, staring up at the stars with a blanket on top of them. His arm lay underneath her neck, resting his hand across her stomach and she had her body angled sideward toward him with her leg entwined with his own.
A breath hitched in her throat, about to give in, maybe she should say what she'd been feeling lately.
"Zoro, I-" she began but then she gasped in pain.
She pulled away with a jolt and clutched at her head, trying to hold it in but the pain was getting worse.
Zoro shot up suddenly so he could observe her. "What's wrong?!" he exclaimed in shock.
"Q-quick, we have to get changed. A hurricane is coming."
Luffy stood next to Nami up near the helm's door as she clutched at her head, with Robin at her side holding her around the shoulders.
No one had bothered to mention her disheveled appearance and a small rip in the side of her dress that hadn't been there before since they had more important worries at the moment.
"W-we have to get away from here. S-set sail, Luffy," she almost pleaded with one hand gripping the railing. "T-the closer it gets, the more...pain I feel."
Their Captain moved closer to her, pulling her into his arms with a hand resting on the back of her head.
"We'll find you a cure. We did it on Drum Island, we can do it again-"
Robin stared on from behind Nami thoughtfully. No, this isn't the same.
"S-set sail," exclaimed Nami but the pain throbbed worse than it had ever been.
Nami didn't feel herself fall to the ground but she felt the pain.
"Wave girl!"
She turned and saw Futen, that idiot.
"What is it?" she asked glaring at him.
"Hahachikyu wants a word."
What did that old hag want? She wanted to go and visit the mortals.
Her white and gold robes flowed behind her as she walked, to find that miscreant following her.
"Leave me be," she said, turning her head in defiance.
No matter how many advances he made, she would never be interested.
The golden doors opened and her mother glared down at her.
"I heard you've made a friend, below."
She nodded.
"Don't let their race fool you. Humans cannot be trusted."
It was her mother's arrogance that put them in this mess. Banished from their realm...how the devil?!
So now that they were banished to Earth - forever to walk with the mortals, it is now that Hahachikyu wants the deities to fornicate with them?!
Ten years already, roaming this world trying to find their way back home, and this is the solution they've come up with?!
She'd had years of heartache when her mother had struck her love down and now she decided 'oh it's okay, let's make babies with the mortals so as to keep our lineage going'.
She'd rushed to the town Hahachikyu resided in and stormed into the castle she'd had human's build her. Guards came to stop her but she simply held up her hand and lighting came from the sky, striking them down instantly.
Walking toward the throne room was an easy task as she lifted up her open palm as wind began to cascade through the halls, causing the guards to fly against the walls and as she closed her fist, the wind vanished.
Long auburn hair flowed behind her as she used her wind armour to envelope her body suddenly. As the large golden doors came into view, she touched a door with her hand and it came flying through into the next room, landing at the feet of her mother.
"I see you're angry, daughter."
"Extremely, Haha."
"Leave us," spoke Hahachikyu, dismissing her guards and advisors. "I hear you've heard the news."
"You killed my...my beloved and now expect me to be with someone I don't know?!"
The woman in front of her with long, blond locks of wavy hair stood from her throne. The woman who looked barely forty and still had flawless skin with a perfect slender body, walked toward her daughter.
"You think me heartless and cruel, my dear child of the waves, but do not forget that all of us will have to do the same. That boy that you loved, the one with the green hair, he is but a servant. I didn't kill him in the end but instead, a worse fate awaits him. I wiped his memory of you."
Her eyes widened in shock as tears fell freely from them, but not a whimper left her lips.
"Humans cannot handle knowing of us. If they do, they will simply use you but most will be scared of you and want to kill you. With this said, there is much beauty and love in this world. Unfortunately for us, that fate is something we cannot achieve. If I had a choice, your life would be filled with freedom to love and to be free but being deities, we must protect them. You see, the devils are afoot. They've sprinkled their seeds across the world and who knows what will come of it."
"But-"
"No buts. Our children are our only hope of defeating them and when it is time, their power will emanate true and will be able to protect those that need protecting. We will die soon, my dear Nami."
Her mother reached a slender hand to her daughter's face to caress her cheek with the back of her hand softly.
"We cannot live long outside of our realm. A human life span is all we can manage now."
Nami gasped as she jolted upright. Looking around her, she realised she was back to reality because the whole ship was shaking.
The hurricane! She thought in a panic and threw the covers off of her. As she reached the door, she could hear metal clanging against metal and wood breaking.
When she ran outside, dawn was breaking and it seemed that there wasn't a hurricane at all.
Robin sat where the ladder was, watching the scene below with a curious expression. Chopper seemed to be sitting beside her, eating an apple and Usopp was standing, clutching the railing on the other side of Robin.
Nami's eyes widened when she saw that Zoro, Luffy and Sanji were in amongst a fight between three random people she'd never seen before.
"Robin! What happened to the hurricane? Was there one?" exclaimed Nami quickly.
Robin's eyes widened slightly, realising their navigator was well and up and about. She gave a small smile to acknowledge her presence.
"Yes but it was strange. It stopped all of a sudden and when it stopped, these people appeared from inside it!" exclaimed Chopper almost with stars in his eyes at how cool it had looked.
"Nami...you're okay...we were all worried, especially when you screamed as if you were being murdered," said Usopp abashedly. His eyes held relief and so she could only give him a smile to comfort him
"I'm okay for now. I had the strangest dream-"
"It's not a dream, in fact, it's a memory," said a voice from above them where her tangerine trees sat.
All four of them turned in shock up at the voice they'd never heard before. There was the man who had attacked her, staring down at them arrogantly. The sun rose in the horizon behind where he stood, almost making him seem surreal and it was then that he jumped down and landed on his feet gracefully in front of the helm's door.
"Y-you," stammered Nami with fear.
Zoro could see what was happening above and so lashed out a little more than he'd intended with his next strike, causing his opponent to slide backward but had blocked the attack. His eyes scanned the upper deck once more to spot a glance at their attacker to find that it was the man from earlier; the one who attacked Nami.
"Oh Wave Girl...look at you. But don't worry, I'll make sure we're unhindered and once you die, you'll see," he shouted over the noise from below.
He pulled out a ball and chain with an evil glint in his eye. "A trip to Davy Jones' Locker should do the trick."