Author's Note: My dearest readers! I have returned! My deepest apologies for sudden disappearance, I have experienced an unpleasant case of author's block... However, it does not justify me to leave all of you lovelies hanging like this.. So therefore, I have decided to combine 2 chapters worth of contents together for this update~ And hoping this will make up for something =)

Disclaimer: So I re-watched One Piece.. And let me re-state this one more time.. Zoro, you are THE man! 3 But he doesn't belong to moi.. sigh

Chapter 8

It wasn't until after she had dinner with Nojiko did Nami realize her cell phone had ran out battery. She tossed it back into her bag as she got onto the bus. She could've sworn the battery was completely charged when she left the house this morning. She sighed as she made a mental note to herself - it's probably a sign that she should look into a new phone.

But when she plugged in her phone, she realized she had more than forty missed calls, including three voice mails. She was slightly amazed at her all-of-the-sudden popularity. But when she looked into the her calling log, she noticed all calls were made from an unknown number - the callers had blocked their number from displaying on her phone.
Well, now that's interesting. She thought she had put her number on the Do Not Call list, so she shouldn't be getting any telemarketing or spam phone calls. She grunted as she through her phone onto the bed with disgust, should she even consider getting a new number as well now?

When she was getting changed to shower, her phone beeped - a text message just came in. Still annoyed at the spam calls, she decided to ignore the message and stepped into the shower. The bathroom door closed behind Nami, and the water is now running. The phone beeped again, the name on the screen flashed in the dark room.

R. Zoro.

Zoro's words acted like a cue.
Before Franky could react, Usopp stepped forward, whipped out his pistol and planted it on his temple. As Franky reached back to his belt in a reflex for his own weapon, Usopp pressed the gun on his head harder, "I wouldn't move if I were you."
At the same time Usopp took on Franky, Robin also reacted to Zoro's order. No one saw how she moved, or where she got her weapon from, but as time seemed to freeze in frame, Luffy only saw a flash of light, and didn't dare to move as he felt the chill from the knife that's right against his neck.

Everything all happened way too fast for anyone to react.
Robin broke the silence, "Don't be rude, mister. My master asked you a question."
"There are consequences for your actions, young man. I suggest you to remove your gun immediately." Franky controlled his anger as he spoke. But Usopp didn't seem to care to respond. The other officers are now all fighting hard to stay put, and impatiently waited for the chance to charge.
Usopp removed another pistol under his jacket with his free hand, and pulled the trigger without looking.

The glass that Luffy used earlier shattered on the table. "I also wouldn't interrupt my master if I were you, Inspector." Usopp glanced at Franky, and grinned, "I'm quite good at aiming."

Luffy smiled, "Let's relax, everybody. I don't even know which 'she' we're talking about here."
Robin pushed the knife a centimeter closer, and Luffy could feel his Adam's apple touching the blade as he swallowed. "Inspector, aren't you going to do something about this?"
Franky grunted, "Don't fucking tell me what to do!"

Then the entire club was filled with silence.

When Luffy heard a quiet buzzing sound in the room, he smiled. He watched with interest as Zoro taking out his cell phone from his suit jacket. Although his expression didn't change, Luffy could see Zoro's eyes had a rare tint of softness when he heard the voice from the other side. The conversation was short, and Zoro didn't say much to the other person, and he ended the talk with "I'll call you back." His voice is as emotionless as always.

Usopp and Robin both turned slightly to look at Zoro, and they both withdrew their weapons when they saw his hand went up in the air.
Zoro rose from his seat. He had his hands in the pants pockets, and took his time as if he's taking a stroll down the park as he made his way to Luffy. "Losing a couple nights of business, to me, I could care less. You have your principals Luffy, and don't forget I have mine." He stopped a foot away from Luffy, "And look what you made me do. Now we both have to go keep Inspector Franky company."
Luffy loosened his tie around his neck, and sighed, "At least, the coffee they serve is not half bad."

~*~
In the interview room, Zoro took his time with the coffee offered to him. He only wish they could at least allow him to have his phone with him. He told Nami that he would call her back, but seriously, he had been sitting here for at least two hours, and had at least 5 cups of coffee. Although, he could appreciate the quality of the drink, but still, that doesn't change the fact that he could at least be listening to her voice as he waited for whoever is going to come to ask him questions.

Just as he thought he could probably doze off and have a nap, the door suddenly swung open, and he could hear the boots landing heavily on the floor. Just like how the door was violently swung open, it was just equally violently swung shut. Zoro couldn't help but to sympathize the walls of the room as he felt the shaking.

A folder of files were slammed onto the table, and the person who threw it planted himself on the chair across from Zoro. Zoro reached for the coffee cup and took another sip from it as he looked ahead at the officer who just sat down.
Franky didn't look the greatest. Not because it's late at night right now, but more because his face is a mixture of colors, and Zoro could only assume they're from frustration and, perhaps, embarrassment from earlier tonight.

"Congratulations, now you officially have a record." Franky spoke, clearly controlling his anger in his voice.
Zoro tilted his head, and glanced at the camera mounted at the corner of the room, and smiled when he saw the flashing red light. Ah, the power of video recording. He placed the cup back onto the table, "This is a waste of time, Inspector." He glanced at his watch, "If the purpose of this interview is to tell me that I should care about my criminal record, perhaps we should all save some time and energy on that."
A vein popped on Franky's forehead, and he had to take a deep breath before he spoke, "Correction. This is for you to tell me what you and GP-8 leader were negotiating about tonight."
Zoro looked at Franky with a weird look, "I would also like to know that. Why don't you tell me once you find out?"

The men stared at each other without words. Zoro know Franky's struggles, but he can't back down. He can't bring his friend into … whatever Luffy has planned. Whatever it is, his instinct is telling him that he needs to be prepared.

Chapter 9

The biggest aquarium in the country happened to be located in this city. It was a gorgeous summer day, Nami was happy that she can finally put down her medical books for one day, and just enjoy the sun. She let loose of Zoro's hand, and stepped forward cautiously into the water. A dolphin poked its head out of the water. It tilted its head and stared at Nami with wonder.

"Zoro look!" Nami exclaimed excitedly. The sun shone onto the water, reflecting the light and made Zoro momentarily blind when he turned to look what Nami wanted to show him. Nami couldn't read Zoro's expression, but she saw horror in his eyes.
She didn't understand.
She was excited that the dolphin had accepted fish from her, and she wanted to show him how awesome that was. Was she, or the dolphin, that scary? She giggled, and thought to herself: no way. Zoro could top anyone of being scary, on any day.

But surely, she saw Zoro's lips move, but she couldn't hear anything coming out of them. Mmm, that's weird, they're not that much further away from each other.
But wait... no they are….
Since when did she get this far away from him? Zoro was running with all his will and power, but she didn't feel like he was getting any closer to her. She glanced around her, and noticed that she has been totally enclosed by darkness. And the only source of light slowly to disappear along with Zoro.

...She began to panic.

She never enjoyed being alone in the dark. In fact, she hated being alone in the dark. It made her feel lonely and abandoned. The feeling of being trapped, the feeling of helplessness, and the feeling of insecure had overwhelmed her like a flood. Zoro… He has always been there for her, highs and lows during anytime and any day. He has never left her side when her mother passed away last year. Zoro was never the type of person to say much during such situation, but his presence alone had made her going through the transition phase very calmly and securely.
But her Zoro... Where is he now! She needs him!

Then she saw flickering of lights. They came to her direction. Their face hidden in the dark. Nami took a step back before realizing the flickering of lights were from knife blades held in these men's hands!
She began to run…. Only to find her legs heavy as lead, and as if an invisible force is pulling her back… The panic feeling intensified… and she began to pant as she heard her own heart beat pounding in her ears.

And suddenly, a hand held onto hers. She remember this feeling - warm and secure. It was this hand that has always held on tight to hers no matter the incident and circumstance. She couldn't see Zoro's face as he stood firmly in front of her and shielded her from her attackers. She couldn't hear clearly what he was saying, but the anger in his voice was clear.
Then things began to get foggy…

And only the blood on her hand remained clear…
She looked down at her trembling hands, and eyes widened when she saw the stain and smear of blood on her palm and fingers. Her breath caught in her throat.
"R...Run.."
Who was talking to her?

She lifted up her head. She found a familiar figure lying beside her, a pool of blood underneath him. She looked back to her hands, and her eyes widened with the realization.
Oh … God..
She crawled to his side, and a deep slash diagonally across his chest stared boldly at her. She saw his eyes drooping closed, and her heart was drowned in the fear of losing him.

No! Zoro, don't leave me!

Nami opened her eyes, and glanced around the familiar setting in her bedroom. Her heart remained pounding with speed. A tell-tale trace of tear crept on her face.
She reached for her phone and checked the time. 5:15am.

Damn... The same dream… again…

That experience of how Zoro got his scar on his chest has always haunted her. If it wasn't for him, she most likely couldn't have pulled through that night with the group of attackers. He had no weapon, and fought barehanded against 10 men who were equiped with sharp blades. At the end, he got a bloody scar on his chest, and she...was pristinely fine.
That idiot. She thought to herself as she got up to get herself a cup of water. While she took a deep breath, her hand was lifted to her forehead. At the end of her fingertips was a thin layer of sweat - that memory, and what had followed, never ceased to taunt her. Not only was she not by his side for his recovery, she also got pulled from her internship, then was thrown out of medical school… what a life she's had.

She meant to wait for his call earlier tonight, but couldn't recall when she fell asleep. Well, seems like the call won't be coming anytime soon since he should probably be resting. She sighed, so should she.

~*~
Nami was busily typing away at her desk, when Sanji called her into his office.
"Nami, I'm sorry, but I don't think you'll be able to do any field work with Brook anymore. I have another project for you to follow." He said apologetically while handing over a folder of files.
She couldn't help but to raise her eyebrows when she flipped through the stack of papers. "Eh.. I guess that's not a problem, Sanji. But… there are….more than one case in this folder.." And not to mention, they're old news.
Sanji leaned back to his seats, and brought his hands to his chin, "They're old, doesn't mean they're not important. These are the files that were related a homicide case a couple of years ago, and the local police department is requesting all the story coverage we did in our archives. And if possible, I also want you to get in contact with the journalist who wrote the articles to get them in contact with the officers."

Nami nodded, "No problem Sanji." She turned to walk away, but looked back at Sanji, "Brook will be fine on his own?"
Sanji smiled, "Not to worry, he's experienced enough."

~*~
"Tired from work?"
Nami opened her eyes when she heard Zoro's question. "Too much reading." She left out the part of how messy the archive was, and how much time she had wasted on locating only a few out of plenty of stories she had to pull out.
Zoro reached over a hand to hold onto hers, while keeping the other on the steering wheel, and said no more to focus on driving.

After a moment of silence, Nami eyed Zoro from the corner of her eyes. And noticed he's the tired one out of the two of them. She hesitated, but still decided to ask, "Is everything ok?"
Zoro tilted his head toward her while keeping his eyes on the road, "…?"
Nami smiled, said in a soft voice, "Feel like you have been quite occupied with a lot of things lately. And …. I see you a lot less now…."
Zoro didn't say anything, but only tightened his grip around Nami's hand..

I believe this was the chapter that I have re-read and edited at the airport while my flight was delayed for 2.5 hours.. so there you go~! Leave your foot prints everyone! With much love, Merlot signing off~ 3