Author's Note: I'm back~~~ And you thought I forgot about this story, didn't cha? :P Truth is.. Once I caught up with the Fisherman Island landing in the New World for OP, I refused to watch the rest on a once per week basis, so I took a break lol... which then explains my inspiration block for this story as well... And now that I'm back to watching it, I'm hoping that my inspiration would also come back ...

Disclaimer: Anyone seen Iron Man 3? RDJ is charming... but still think Zoro is more manly ^^ ~~

Chapter 10

"Do as I order."

Usopp can only watch as Zoro got up from his seat, and walked out of the office. He thought to himself, well that's easier said than done, master. Feeling defeated, he scratched his head and sank into the couch. The door opened again, he straightened up right away, and only to sink back to his seat when he saw Robin standing in the door way looking at him with a mixed expression on her face.

"... Has he gone crazy..?" Usopp asked.
Robin closed the door behind her, and took a seat. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, and remained silent.
"He wants all the forces out of this territory, and assigned the strongest unit away! GP-8 has been aggressive. Every day they inch closer and deeper into our territory, and now he wants us to pull all the forces out?! Has he gone insane?"
"GP-8 has been quiet in the last week…"
"Fantastic! And that justifies my master's decision, how?!"

Robin lifted her gaze up to look at Usopp, who is clearly fuming in anger and frustration… and confusion, perhaps. "Mr. Usopp, you need to calm down and try to relax first." He has gone out of character. She has never seen him getting this emotional under any sorts of circumstances. In fact, ever since Usopp started serving under Zoro at a young age, the man has taken Zoro's word as the Bible, and never questioned anything, but followed full heartedly.
Usopp jumped out of his seat, "Nuh uh! Don't try to tell me to calm down when clearly something is wrong, and someone is clearly not tell us what is wrong! T-unit has always be in charge for the safety of the leader, and now he just told me 'not necessary' and wants the unit to be somewhere else. GP-8 has always known for their ruthless and aggressiveness! " He stopped pacing around the room, and fixed his gaze on Robin, "No no, you need to talk to him! You need to talk some sense into him!"

Robin curled her lips up into a teasing smile, "Mr. Usopp, try to breathe."
"Don't you get the severity of the situation?"
Robin lowered her head, and her voice is dangerously serious, "Have you forgotten that there's only one person who possibly could change his mind… and that person is not me. Think with a calm mind, Usopp. Zoro would never make a reckless decision. T-unit is the most reliable unit for their strength, trailing right behind us. With Zoro's ability, he doesn't quite need the protection, but… "
"... But someone else… does." As if a light bulb lit up, Usopp suddenly had another person in mind, which now… actually justified everything.

~*~
Sanji was gathering his stuff, and finishing up the last bit of work before he's ready to take off for the day. His thought about the delicious steak that he had planned on making for dinner tonight made his stomach growl. Ah yes, a good steak goes hand in hand with terrific wine. He should probably drop by the liquor store on his way home. He wondered about the kind of wine he should be purchasing as his steak partner, when a knock on the door interrupted his thought.

He looked up and glanced at the clock before answering, "Come in."
7PM - not a time that someone would still be hanging around this office, not even Nami, when he told her to stop doing over-time a week ago.

The door cracked open slowly, and an orange head poked in cautiously. "Sanji?"
Sanji crooked his head curiously, "Nami. How come you are still around?"
Nami slipped into his office, and carefully closed the door behind her before answering, "Are you busy at the moment? Could I have a word with you?"
Sanji gave the lady standing in front of him a very good look. She is still in the clothing from earlier today when she came to work, everything seemed to be somewhat normal. But her brows are deeply furrowed, clearly showing her worries and concern, although she tried hard to keep the neutral expression on her face. "I suppose it is something urgent for you to return here to find me."

Nami hesitated for a couple more seconds before she finalized on a decision, her voice filled with uncertainty and fear, "Have you seen Nojiko?"
Sanji wasn't quite surprised to hear this name in her question, but was more concerned of why she has asked. "I had coffee with her yesterday, but haven't heard from her since. What's going on?"
Nami clutched her phone in both hands in front of her chest, "…. I think she might be in trouble…"

They drove around the city three times that evening, and visited every place that Nojiko could have went, but at the end of the night, Nami sat in the passenger's seat lost in thought. Sanji didn't say much that night. He even gave up on saying "Don't worry" after they have failed to locate Nojiko after the second time they went around the city. Nami has been calling her sister every five minutes, and has drained her phone battery completely. Sanji has offered her his own phone, but now Nami only stared at it in silence. Her head is down, and her hand clutched tightly on the phone - so tight, her knuckles turned white.
Sanji reached over, and gently placed a hand over hers. Nami shook at the contact, but her fingers loosened around the phone, "I should probably call her place, maybe she was just delayed by business, and just returned home." Her voice sounded distant, and Sanji saw fear in her eyes when she momentarily looked up.
He tightened his grip on her hand, and stopped her from dialing. "What you need right now is rest. Leave the rest to me."

His words felt like a stream of light which shone into her darkness. Nami felt her eyes getting hot, and next thing she knows, a drop of crystal tear splashed on their linked hands.
Sanji said no more, and only allowed her to sob away quietly as he starred into the star-filled sky. His eyes shimmered at a sudden thought formed in his head. But he brushed it away for the time-being, and reached to the back seat for a box of tissue. Nami accepted the offer without looking up. She took a couple deep breaths before returning the phone to Sanji.
Sanji watched as she forced out a smile, "You are right.. Maybe I'll be able to think better if I can get some sleep."

With that, she unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped out of the car, and walked to her apartment without looking back. She doesn't want to show him her tears - the weak side of her. She doesn't want anyone to see her when her last line of defense is broken down like this. But this doesn't make any sense. Nojiko never lose contact with her like this. Even if her battery died throughout the day, she would still contact her to let her know somehow.
Her tears kept on rolling down her face as she feared for the worst. What if..

~*~
Sanji give his idea another hard thought before picking up the phone and dialed a series of numbers.
"I think they're finally making a move. I'm activating the unit." He said in a grave voice. His face was shadowed in the dark. He listened a bit more, and his face grew more serious as time went by. He reached into his jacket to fish out his pack of cigarette and took a long drag before he said to the person on the other end, "You either need to trust him, or trust yourself on this. But I need the unit." With that he hang up the phone.

He sat quietly in the dark. The only thing that showed he was still awake was the red dot that briefly lights up as he took another drag at his cigarette.