It was still raining when they left the bar. Nami hurried to open her umbrella as soon as she noticed the rampant precipitation, it was coming down much harder than it had been that afternoon. She was so focused on staying dry that she didn't even noticed her currently soaked companion as he stood irritably in the downpour. When she turned around, Zoro was practically dripping. Feeling guilty for letting him get so wet, Nami adjusted the map so that it was in one hand and awkwardly held the umbrella over both of their heads. She took the rope out of her coat pocket and started to tie it around his waist before he slapped it away.

"Are you kidding me?!" he shouted. "I'm not a dog, I don't need to be led around like one!."

She rolled her eyes.

"Dogs have a way better sense of direction than you."

Regardless, she ended up putting the rope away, it wasn't worth arguing over. When it was safely tucked back in her pocket, and she had repositioned her hold on both the umbrella and the map, they started walking. Nami squinted at the worn parchment in her hands. The sketched graph was crude but undeniably accurate. It irritated her that a town that claimed to be magic could chart something that, as far as she was concerned, was unchartable. Irritation soon turned to depression. She hadn't trained for two years to become the best goddamn navigator on this side of the Grandline just to encounter a place that could be navigated. She found herself cursing the ground they were walking on, she was still missing something. Some key piece of knowledge that would help her keep her crew safe on the most dangerous sea in the world.

Zoro braved a glance in her direction. She was obviously deep in thought, either on finding their way back or something else entirely. However, at the moment that wasn't his main concern. His main concern was that the difference in height between Nami and him made it so that the umbrella was touching his head and the metals rods keeping it open kept tangling painfully in his hair. Cautiously he wrapped his fingers around the handle and tried to pull it out of her hand. The second she felt his fingers graze hers she snapped out of her thoughts and roughly tugged the handle back towards her.

"What are you doing?!" she glared at him.

"Let me carry the umbrella you're too damn short!"

Her eyes widened, obviously offended. She pulled the umbrella completely away from him, leaving Zoro helpless to the storm. He yelled a string of profanities as the rain immediately pelted him from above.

"I'm not short! You just want to hold the umbrella so you can wander off by yourself."

He stared at her, wondering how the fuck she had come to that conclusion. All he wanted was keep the hair on his head and now he was being showered with freezing water while a crazy woman screamed at him. Why was she so mad anyway? it wasn't like he had asked her to tag along with him.

"FINE! Keep the stupid umbrella!."

He shoved his hands into his pockets and stomped angrily ahead. He could get back to the Sunny without some girl shrieking at him and trying to tear all of his hair out. He hadn't gotten very far when he felt the pressure of a hand hook around his arm. She had ran after him and was now poutingly hanging onto his side. Zoro thought about shoving her away but didn't take long to reconsidered.

He looked over to her as she indignantly clutched his arm. Her hair was a little frizzy from the moisture and stray red strands clung to her face. Without thinking he moved to pull it behind her ears. It was a mistake. The second she sensed his fingertips near her face she slapped his hand away. Hard.

"I have the map idiot, you need to stay by my side."

He mumbled under his breath that he didn't need to do anything but stayed with her nonetheless. They walked in silence as Nami concentrated all of her energy on making sure they were going the right way. Occasionally, he stole a few glances in her direction, each time noticing the frustrated expression locked firmly on her face. every time he looked over her irritation seemed to be growing. Finally, it seemed she'd had enough and angrily threw the map on the ground, dropping the umbrella in the process.

"WHAT THE HELL KIND OF ISLAND CHANGES DIRECTION!? IT DOESN'T. MAKE. ANY. LOGICAL SENSE!"

Zoro backed away with his hands up. She was breathing heavily and her face was starting to go red, he wasn't going anywhere near that. Nami stayed like that for awhile, panting in anger, until she made the decision that she wouldn't be satisfied unless she stomped on it. She swore as her feet pounded the paper into the ground. Realizing it was time to intervene, Zoro gently grabbed her shoulder and turned her towards him.

"Nami….calm down we need that."

She stared at him, face flushed and her hand balled into a fist. She smacked his hand away and clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"I can't stand this…..we have to leave. Right now."

Despite the tense atmosphere, He couldn't help but laugh. She glared at him unable to see what exactly was so amusing about this situation.

"What!?" she snapped.

"Nothing! It's just …. We've been torpedoed up into the sky, seen dinosaurs, giants and mermaids, our captain is made of rubber but this is where you draw the line?"

Nami took a deep breath, preparing to yell at him, but stopped. Closing her eyes, she did what she could to calm herself before slowly picking up the map and tucking it away. Now very irritated, she admitted to herself that he was right. She grumbled a couple insults at him that were too quiet to hear then pointed behind her at the fallen parasol.

"Pick that up"

Zoro was too tired to argue. Silently, he did as he was told and hoisted it over the two of them. This was the last time he would get himself into a situation like this. No more drinking with 'friends'. No more losing his swords and running into horrible shrewd girls on the way. When at last they found their way back to the ship he felt a huge wave of relief wash over him. He could've kissed the Sunny on its big lion face. Finally, the nightmare that was today disappeared and was replaced by the promise of tomorrow. As they climb up the ship, He made a vow that he would never let himself be alone with Nami ever again.

"Zoro! wait!"

Run. He had to run. Why was she chasing him? was she that determined to ruin any possible enjoyment he might experience? He took in his surroundings, looking for an escape or at least a place to hide until she gave up and returned to the ship. Nothing. He was too far from the trees and until he got to the forest there was nothing but sand. Maybe he could temporarily bury himself. No, that was stupid. How could anyone be so fast in heels?

Just as Zoro thought he was safe, two arms were flung around his waist and he was tackled to the ground. His chest hit the land with a thump. Once he was face down in a ground, he didn't bother pushing her off. He knew he was beaten and would have to accept it like a man. With his face still planted in the sand, Nami repositioned herself so that she was sitting cross-legged on his back with her hands folded across her chest. She blew her bangs grumpily out of her face.

"I don't know where you think you're going, there's no way you're wandering off alone here."

Zoro tried to voice his objections, but with his face still in the ground all that came out were muffled shouts. Nami pushed herself off him and pulled him up roughly by the collar. He wiped the sand off his mouth and glared at her.

"What are you talking about?"

She dramatically put her hand to her face in a display of distress and let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Letting you run off on your own under normal circumstances is dangerous, but theres no way I'm letting you go anywhere alone on this island."

"Okay. One more time. What the fuck are you talking about."

She flung her arms over her head in frustration. If she wasn't so nice, Nami would've just let him get lost for all eternity in this crazy little village. Unfortunately, She was far too kind-hearted for her own good."Why are you so stupid?", she asked, genuinely wanting an answer.

" …..You are really starting to piss me off."

She narrowed her eyes and poked his chest with her finger.

"Since I'm the one in charge of directing the crew, It's my responsibility to make sure you, in particular, don't get lost."

His stomach dropped. She wasn't about to say what he thought she was, right?

"In short, you're not going anywhere without me."