As humanity live and die

As their memories soon forget

Amor Descends once again

"As my Lord wishes."

Chapter 2: A Shopping Trip to Remember

Zoro and Nami walked out of the restaurant, Nami this time perched on Zoro's right while he carried bags on both his right and left. Recalling the earlier trip where they had sat in one particular clothes store with Nami modeling everything, not to mention the shoe store which had more than doubled his load, Zoro could only look up at her warily to see where she would head to next.

The tangerine haired woman was biting her lip, eyes scanning the area. Sunlight highlighted her orange locks and before he could catch himself, his thoughts were focused solely on how adorable her facial expression was. His eyes widened slightly at this as he reminded himself that she was most likely scheming how to torture him for the rest of the afternoon and you could almost see that internal struggle reflected on his face. Somewhere behind a palm tree, a soft chuckle could be heard.

Nami looked down, "Zoro?" She asked cautiously, the green haired swordsman seemed to be in a daze, his face turning a multitude of different shades. Worried, she placed a cool hand on his forehead and his face turned an even darker shade of red.

"What?" He snapped, and Nami withdrew her hand looking slightly hurt. Instantly regretting his action, he tried to soften his tone, "I'm alright. Have you decided on where we are headed?"

She had initially planned to give him a break and perhaps take a walk around town. Now, her lips curved and she found herself replying, "There." Looking over to where her finger was pointing, her eyes widened slightly and she could not help but wonder what her mind was thinking exactly. She panicked, "I mean, I mean-"

The swordsman was already walking towards that shop, his face expressionless. Nami was suddenly reminded that he, unlike Sanji, could not care less about what kind of clothes she wore. Be they revealing or overly modest. Something inside her wondered what would happen if he saw her in her undergarments. Flushing deeply, she reminded herself that he had seen her in a bikini top in Little Garden and had absolutely no reaction. 'Oh,' the voice said, sounding a little disappointed.

They entered the shop, Nami slipping off Zoro's shoulder, "Hello?" She called, the shop seemed to be void of humanity. Just then, a girl bustled out from behind the counter. Strange, she hadn't been there before. She was relatively tall, around Nami's height and her hair was black. Strangely, her eyes were that same shade of red that their new musician's had been. "Good afternoon, lady. You are here for some lingerie I suppose?" Her eyes were on Zoro, a gleam in them, "You will be using them some time soon?"

Nami flushed at the suggested innuendo, waving her hand to Zoro, "H-he's just a friend." Something inside her rebelled against this prying, what business was it of the shopkeeper's? "I don't recall it being any of your business." She stated, regaining composure.

Zoro watched her, a slight smirk on his face. It was rare to see that tangerine haired navigator unsettled and he could not care less about other people's impressions of him. However, something in the lady's words struck him and he suddenly realized, "WE'RE IN A LINGERIE SHOP?"

Nami sighed, rubbing her temples, what had he been thinking when he had carried her here? Maybe he would have some reaction after all, the voice in her said snidely.

"It is always my business." This was said softly and inaudible to even Nami's ear. The shopkeeper smiled widely, "Why, you have yourself a rather fine man over there, if you do not want him, some other hussy on the street could always have him." Indicating to a small seat in front of the dressing area, she ushered the swordsman who had now turned a deep shade of red to wait there. Winking, she turned with a click of her heels to introduce the female navigator to some forms of undergarments.

Nami had been left gaping at the shopkeeper's comment and was still in a daze when some cloth was pressed into her hands. Leading her to the dressing room, she mindlessly put on one set. Suddenly, she looked at the mirror, all of a sudden aware of what she was wearing. A gothic strapped halter greeted her eyes and she was suddenly aware that she had put on a black corset. Sheer, lace stockings covered her slender legs, held up by garters and she felt wobbly.

The shopkeeper bustled back in seeing that she was done, "Lovely, lovely, shall we go outside and show your man?" She inquired, Nami was still in a daze and unable to argue as she was practically dragged outside the dressing room.

When she came to herself, she was standing in the dressing room with Zoro's gaze on her. Flushing deeply, she moved backwards, unable to understand this feeling of awareness on her skin. Recalling that time in Arabasta when she had let the towel drop, she remembered now that Zoro had not been there. Feeling his gaze burn on her skin, she backed away, tripping and falling backwards.

In an instant, the swordsman was there, supporting her against his body, a sense of awareness flooded her body and she could feel his bodily heat seeping into her. She could feel his breath warm against her lips and Nami could not tell whose face was redder.

Suddenly, her face split into a sly smile, "That'll be 1000 Beri for looking and another 1000 for touching." She chuckled as his face contorted and he released her abruptly; easing the tension between them and the tension she had felt between their bodies. Smirking, she turned and reentered the dressing room. Inwardly, she could still feel her racing heart and she still remembered clearly the way her body had felt against his.

The shopkeeper was there waiting, "Well? Did he like it?" She asked cheerfully, another outfit in her hand. Nami looked it warily.

"I think I would like something less elaborate, something more, simplistic." She articulated her thoughts clearly, and this time she would be sure not to allow that shopkeeper to put her in another embarrassing situation such as the earlier one. A voice in her head was nudging her to wear that green garment the shopkeeper held in her hands, didn't she want to see how Zoro would react? It argued with her.

Looking surprised that the tangerine haired woman had snapped out of her daze so quickly, the shopkeeper frowned slightly. "You should wear this, you know." She urged, "It is the same colour as your lover's hair after all-"

Nami flushed, cutting her off, "He is not my lover!" She burst out. Zoro heard this from outside and briefly wondered to himself what they were talking about. His mind wandered off towards a strange direction and he cursed under his breath, hoping that whatever happened, it would not put him in a situation similar to the one before. He cursed, too, his imagination, which had caused some discomfort in his lower regions.

"In denial I see," the shopkeeper observed, a wicked smile on her lips, "As I was saying, I could give you a huge discount for it. Normally outfits like these would cost around 25 000 Beri, but I could cut down the price to 5 000 Beri, it is worth it. And it can be used as outerwear as well as undergarments."

Nami hesitated; the cash register in her head was going off like wild fire. She herself knew that lingerie was expensive, which was one of the many reasons why she avoided buying them, that and she had no real use for them. Finally nodding her head, she agreed, a wide smile spread over the shopkeeper's face. If Nami had not known any better, she would say it was a rather triumphant smirk. Thrusting a green outfit into the tangerine haired woman's hands, she left the room to allow her to change.

The emerald lace felt soft against her skin and the cool satin clung to her curves. Surveying her image, Nami felt relieved that this outfit was less revealing than the other one. A small voice in her mind whispered snidely that she had liked the way Zoro looked at her in the last outfit. Heat rose in her cheeks and whipping off the garment, she donned her own clothes hurriedly and stepped out of the dressing room area.

As she stepped out, the tangerine haired navigator spied the swordsman out of the corner of her eye, was that a flash of disappointment over his face? Shaking her head at her own delusions, she stepped up to the cash register to purchase her choice of lingerie. Nami sighed; she liked lingerie as much as the next girl, but something about this store made her skin crawl.

Taking her purchases, she turned to pass them to Zoro who looked relieved that it was just one bag. For some odd reason, his facial expression seemed uncomfortable and when she realized why, Nami barely restrained herself from laughing in his face.

A faint tinge came to Zoro's cheeks as he hoisted her up onto his shoulder, avoiding her gaze. While he did not have the most pleasant experience there, he kept telling himself, it had only resulted in one shopping bag. On the whole, he decided.

"I liked that shop." Nami looked at him and bit her lip to keep from laughing. His expression was stoic as ever despite his mild discomfort and it seemed that he was completely unaware that he had voiced his thoughts out loud. Both were seemingly unaware when he allowed the bags on his left to slide to his elbow and he reasserted his grip more firmly on the female navigator. "Where to?" He asked, looking up at her.

Nami bit her lip again; Zoro decided, he liked seeing her bite her lip. "There," she finally declared and he looked in that direction, registering the shop's name before he headed towards it for once, he was relieved; it was just a book store. Of course, he would regret his thoughts when he came out later carrying a multitude of Nami's books.

The black haired shopkeeper watched them leave. Chuckling, she walked to the back of the shop. A brunette was there, in the nude and struggling against her bonds. "Oh, you are awake." She stated calmly, stepping into the dressing room. Removing her wig and keeping it in a bag that rested at her hips, she wiped her face free of make up and removed her high heels at the same time. Finally she changed out of the clothes she had borrowed from the shopkeeper earlier and donned her original red garment. When she stepped out, it was that auburn haired musician from before.

"When you wake up, all this will have been a mere dream to you," Serliath stated calmly, removing a small bottle from one of her pockets and holding it under the brunette's nose. "Oh and, two pieces of lingerie sets will be gone." The brunette's eyes widened just before then her vision dulled as she collapsed into a slump.

Shaking her head, the red eyed female changed the shopkeeper back into her clothes and dragged the brunette over to the counter where she looked as though she was just sleeping on her job. Dusting her hands off, she walked out of the shop. Looking around the street thoughtfully, she pondered, "Where did that straw hat tell me the ship was before dashing off? Oh yes." And she set off in the direction of the harbour. "You should better treat your underlings." The was muttered, and barely audible.

"It amuses me to no end when these mortals rebel."

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Author's notes: Shorter than the last chapter, but more amusing wouldn't you say?

Rae.keys- I appreciate your review, I hope this chapter had the Nami and Zoro you wanted, and I'll do my best to improve of the foreshadowing.

Thermopylae-Thanks for the heads up on the Beri system, I have changed the amount charged in the last chapter. And I'll do my best to improve on my character.