Amor's web entangles more than Two
Confusion results in not knowing who is the One
"This is too much trouble."
Chapter 4: Interfereance
You could tell by the expressions of the people sitting around the dinner table that two people were not in a good mood. Zoro was scowling at his food as he poked at the food, while the newest member of the Straw Hat Pirates was staring moodily at the couple opposite her, inwardly berating herself inwardly for asking for this particular dish. The couple opposite of Serliath compromised of one ship's navigator and one cook. The navigator was dishing compliment after compliment to the cook who received it with dancing hearts in his eyes.
"It's just fish." Zoro muttered as he stabbed it with his fork. This was most likely the wrong thing to say, but being Zoro, he didn't particularly care. Sanji turned toward the swordsman with a dangerous glare, prepared for an all out argument with the swordsman. However, he was beaten to it by the tangerine haired woman sitting beside him.
Nami protested, "You can't say that, it's delicious!" This statement was agreed with by their black haired captain who had his mouth full and too, was attempting to protest to Zoro's belittlement of their meal. At this statement, Sanji's face was aglow with pleasure while Zoro just grunted. Nami leaned towards Sanji, her cheeks a delicate pink tinge, "Sanji-kun, what is the name of this dish again?"
Attempting to remain suave, but getting slightly flustered, Sanji replied, "Ah, it is called Melliborne's Treasure." Sanji suddenly grabbed Nami's hand, his eyes dark and intense, "Nami-swan, if you want, I can prepare this dish for you everyday…" He moved his lips to brush her knuckles gently. Zoro abruptly got up and headed for the door, his plate clean. Jolted out of his flirtations, Sanji yelled after him, "Marimo-head! Don't forget! You've got dishwashing duty after this!"
Zoro paused at the doorway and gave a short nod as he walked out of the galley. Luffy, whose mouth had been full a moment ago finally managed to swallow down his food, "Man, what's with him?" He asked, looking around. His question just met shrugs from both Usopp and Chopper. Robin just smiled. The rest ignored him, Serliath too caught up with her sulking and Nami too intent on how delicious her food was.
Serliath stared at the plate of fish in front of her through her eyelashes, chewing her food thoughtfully. Melliborne's Treasure, a dish named such for it's unique method of preparation and also for the ingredients. Every dish is unique to the chef who prepares it as the ingredients used to stuff the fish are decided by the chef alone. It just so happened that Serliath had slipped a certain herb into Nami's particular fish. This herb not just enhanced the flavour but would send the consumer on a high, making him or her act out of character. What the dusky haired musician had failed to calculate was that Sanji might set the table such that Nami would sit beside him. Her fork's handle snapped from the way she was gripping it and the ship's occupants looked up.
"…The metal was alot weaker than I expected." Was all she stated as she stared at the broken handle indifferently, "Where can I get another eating utensil?" She inquired as she looked up.
"Don't trouble yourself princess, I'll get it for you." The blonde sitting across her responded, as he stood up to go to the drawers to find another fork, as though it was an everyday matter. Their part time 'carpenter' and the reindeer stared at her for a moment, before Serliath turnend an icy gaze on them, causing them to concentrate very hard on consuming their food. The fork should not have snapped like that. Metal would normally just bend under high pressure.
Finally, Sanji returned, another fork in his hand. He placed it beside Serliath's plate, "For you, Serliath-san." He bowed. Nothing could have prepared him for Serliath's sudden movement as she pressed her lips to his gently.
"That's my people's way of saying thank you." She smiled congenially as she withdrew and returned to eating as though nothing had happened. That shocked the people all round enough, their jaws hanging open as they watched her eat her food calmly. All were in a state of shock except Robin who also finished her food and stood up, leaving the room.
Serliath looked up, "Would anyone care to explain why everyone appears to be staring at me like that?" That question was enough to return the remainants at the dinner table except for Sanji, who was still in a state of shock, to their meals. Patting her lips with her napkin gently, Serliath stood up, "Well now, I will be retiring to my rooms. Goodnight." She gave a small bow and left.
"Two polite females on our ship, well, that's a nice change." Usopp remarked as she left the room. Nami's eyes began to well up in tears at this remark.
"Are you implying I'm not polite? You can't be referring to Robin-san when you say one of us is impolite." Nami got up, tears in her eyes and ran for the door. Sanji ran after her, startled out of reverie.
"Nami-swaaan!!" He yelled as he dashed out. Nami was nowhere to be seen. Wondering where she could be, he decided to take a look in the girl's cabin room, guessing she would go there for some privacy while she cried.
Making his way down, he lit a cigar, slipping a hand into his pocket for his usual suave look. Reaching the cabin door, he opened it without knocking and walked in on a slender figure clad only in loose long blue pants. Her back to him, he did not register who she was until he caught sight of her dusky hair colour. A slight pink tinge appeared on his cheeks and he turned around, closing the door quietly.
"Good evening, Mr Peeping Tom." Robin greeted him as he turned to see her. She walked past him without looking at him as his cigar dropped out of his mouth. This was rather odd behaviour, as she often simply gave a smile, which was enough to unsettle anyone on the ship. Ignoring him, she walked into the cabin room. "You do know that Cook-san was watching you change, don't you?" She inquired politely as she stepped into the cabin room.
Serliath turned around, upper body now covered by a white off shoulder top, its sleeves slitted and billowy. It was quite clear to the onlooker that she wore a black tank top beneath it for modesty's sake. "Did he?" She asked absently, her thoughts clearly elsewhere. Focusing her eyes on the person who entered, she smiled, "Robin-san." She greeted. "Hm, I was just thinking about him too.." She mumbled to herself. Walking forward towards Robin who was now at the desk Nami normally used for writing, she turned the young historian around.
Robin turned, to find the musician bending towards her, eyes scrutinizing her chest.
We'll leave them there for a moment, as interesting things were happening above them. Nami who had earlier run out of the galley had entered the deck where Zoro was training. Eyes still overflowing with tears, she ran into him, ignoring the heavy weights he was carrying which he struggled to not let slip onto her.
"Nami?" His voice was incredulous as he stared at the young tangerine haired woman who half lay on him, her sobs heartwrenching. He was inclined to believe this was her double, no way would the Wicked Witch of the East Blue ever lie crying on top of him.
Hesitantly, he lay his weights down beside him and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Nami?" He asked again gently, as he tilted her head up towards him with a finger. He had discovered something, it was her and not a double. Another thing he had discovered, he did not particularly enjoy seeing his money mongering witch cry. Did he just say 'his'?
"Zoro? Am I very rude?" She asked, sniffling sadly, as he just stared at her incredulously, wondering what had gotten her so worked up. Finally, he found his voice.
"Sure you are, you're a money-mongering evil witch." He replied in his usual indifferent tone. Nami burst into louder sobs and Zoro stared at her, perplexed. He had simply meant it as a joke.
"Nami-swaan, Nami-swaan!!" Zoro felt his body stiffen, he knew that voice. Sure enough, Sanji had left the girl's cabin and had come up on deck to look for Nami. For some strange reason, Zoro felt a tinge of annoyance and for even stranger reasons, carried Nami, leaving by the other stairway. Nami clung to him, her sobs muffled in his shirt.
"Hey, I only meant it as a joke." He muttered, voice gruff as he rocked her gently. Nami peeked up, eyes swollen and shining with tears.
"But you always call me a witch, and Usopp said that I was a very rude girl…" She burst into more tears. Zoro swore under his breath, muttering that long nosed carpenter would be finding himself with a broken nose the next day. He stared at her helplessly as his feet continued moving, taking them to the now vacated galley where he ought to be doing his dishwashing duties.
A soft voice whispered in his head, 'Kiss her.' Zoro's eyes widened as a faint tinge of pink covered his cheeks, now where had that come from? 'Come on, kiss her,' the voice urged, 'Kiss her and she'll be quiet.'
Ignoring the voice, telling himself to have more self control, Zoro simply patted Nami on the back gently, calming her. "Witches don't cry." He stated simply. Nami looked up, her eyes larger than usual due to the tears shed from her eyes.
Perhaps it was to appease the voice or because he couldn't stand the sight of Nami's eyes swimming with tears, but Zoro kissed the tangerine haired navigator swiftly on the lips. He told himself that it was simply to keep her quiet, despite the fact that she was no longer sobbing. His inner voice fell silent and all he could feel was the moving of her lips against his.
Suddenly, he received a hard slap against his cheek. A heavy blush on her cheeks, Nami slipped out of his arms, breathing hard. Her back facing Zoro, she took a deep breath to compose herself. Feeling a concerned hand on her shoulder, she turned around and gave a smirk, "That'll be 10 000 beri for the kiss, Zoro," she winked as she walked out of the galley, hips swaying as she left. Zoro could only gape at her as she left. Then he let out a loud curse, that witch had set him up! Muttering, he walked to the sink where piles of dirty dishes awaited.
Just outside the galley, Nami placed a hand over her racing heart and pressed her fingers to her lips, a blush staining her cheeks. "I'm definitely adding that to his debt." She muttered to herself to reaffirm that she had only gone along with that kiss for money, not because she liked it. She was completely unaware that she was talking to herself. It appeared that the herb had finally worn off. Now that the interesting things were over and done with, let us return to the culprit who put the herb in Nami's food in the first place, the one who was currently some feet below, staring at Robin's bosom.
"Excuse me, Musician-san, is there any particular reason of yours for staring at my chest?" Robin inquired politely. Serliath stood back and looked up at the historian, of whom she only reached the chin of, even when standing up straight.
"Not only are you taller than I am, your chest is also a lot bigger than mine, I feel envious." Serliath commented wryly, as she looked down at her own runway chest.
"And what does that have to do with anything?" Robin inquired, polite as ever, "Because if that is all Musician-san has to say, I do have a book I want to read." Her hand rested on one of the books she had left on the desk earlier.
"Everything, Robin-san." Serliath's lips curved wickedly, "I wanted to ask this earlier, Robin-san, what do you think of Sanji-kun?"
Robin's expression didn't change, "That is a rather personal question, Musician-san." She stated Serliath's title again, redefining the boundary between them.
"Let me rephrase it, Robin-san, do you like Sanji-kun?" Serliath pressed, ignoring the invisible boundary that the historian had set. Robin ignored her, choosing to take her book in her hand, walking to the door. Serliath's lips curved, "Just wanted to make sure he was free, Robin-san." She winked, there was no doubt about what she was implying.
Robin paused at the doorway, "That is of no concern of mine." Saying thus, she walked out calmly.
Serliath's smile disappeared. It was either this woman had no feelings towards the ship's cook or that she felt no threat from the musician. The threat being ineffective was not due to her lack of endowments either. Any normal woman would feel threatened, endowed or unendowed, by a younger woman. So that could mean, "She knows…"
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Author's note: Oops. I had exams and didn't update. Now that I've updated, I'll be going for my one month long holiday. And I'll only update after that if I see more reviews. –glares at the lot of you-
I hate the prologue. So I might rewrite it. Then I considered how I'd probably hate everything as I progressed. So I thought to rewrite it after I finished, so as to not hold up the story. Everyone in agreement? Or should I just redo the prologue? It probably turns off a lot of readers.
