Chapter 9:Let's steal

Last time:

"Just because you dated this one girl by mail you think you are so good at relationship stuffs that you have to jeopardize mine?"

"WHAT? You have a relationship with—with Nami?"

0-0-0-0-0

Awkward silence filled the room.

For a long moment, both boys remained still staring at each other's stunned faces, respectively wishing they could take back what they had just said.

Ussop was on the brink of a panic attack. He should have known better! Of course Zoro was involved with Nami! What else could be the reason he broke in with a sword in hand looking like he was about to chop somebody into pieces? Zoro never cared about gossips, unless someone that mattered to him was mentioned.

And that "someone", was Nami—now that he knew, Ussop wanted to bang his head into the wall. How could he be so stupid? He'd just unknowingly admitted that he was the one who misguided Nami's feelings and made her turn to Sanji!

Clearly, this was gonna be the death of him. He could only hope that a proficient swordsman like Zoro would make it quick so that he wouldn't feel too much pain—bringing up a hand to cover his eyes, the poor long-nosed boy thought in despair.

But strangely, Ussop's doom never befell him. He peeked through his trembling fingers at the swordsman in front of him—

Well Zoro didn't look too mad, which was a good sign. Instead, there was a bewildered look on his face as he opened his mouth to talk:"It's not a ….I didn't mean…dammit I don't even know what it was with that woman!"

"Z-zoro?" Ussop warily called. Now Zoro looked angry, but more likely with himself.

The swordsman ran his fingers roughly through his green hair and then released a frustrated sigh, "It doesn't matter now. Whatever it was, it isn't anymore." He said in an almost inaudible voice.

"Ano…" Ussop knew he was gonna regret saying this, but the words just came out:" You wanna talk about it, Zoro? "

0-0-0-0-0

"This is bad. This is REALLY BAD."

After the swordsman had done talking, the self-proclaimed love expert concluded with all the negativity in his nature. "You dumped her, Zoro! Of all the girls in the world you have to go and dump Nami? I can't even begin to tell you how bad it is! Now she must really hate you! I don't think she will EVER forgive you for that!"

"Way to cushion it, Ussop. You do remember I slice up people for a living, don't you?" the swordsman gave Ussop a very threatening look before he continued. "Now fix this."

"Eh? How should I fix it? It is beyond repair!"

"And whose fault is that?"

Ussop wanted to say "yours", but under Zoro's intimidating gaze he had no choice but to cave. "…mine?"

He then contemplated the swordsman's request for a moment. "Uh… what do you want me to do? You want me to talk to her? Tell her that you wanna get back with her?"

"No!" the swordsman objected instinctively. The edges of his ears were turning suspiciously pink. "That would make me look like an idiot!"

Ussop rolled his eyes. "Then how? Enlighten me, genus. "

His sarcasm earned him a death glare from the swordsman. He signed, "Look, the real question is, Zoro, do you really want her back? If you don't, I can't help you. I can't be the cause of one of my friends hurting another just because he is too stupid to figure out what he truly wants. Nami may act mean sometimes, but she's a nice girl at heart. She deserves someone who'd know how lucky he is if he's to be with her. "

Zoro was simultaneously annoyed and impressed. He hated that Ussop now really sounded like a love expert—when he was being this serious Zoro couldn't even threaten him with his swords. But on the other hand, he had to admit that Ussop was right. The boy might act a liar sometimes, but he did know when to tell the truth.

Yes Nami could be a handful—Zoro knew that better than anyone else did. But he also knew how much fun it was to actually be with her. He remembered those times she drove him nuts, as well as the countless times that she made him laugh. He then remembered his heart gave a painful throb when he saw her together with Sanji. He kept telling himself there was nothing going on between her and that love-cook, but what if he was wrong? What if there was?

What if she finally decided that he was no boyfriend material while Sanji was clearly, as Ussop had stated, "a safer bet"? What if he woke up the next morning and found out she was already another man's girl? Would he be able to accept that? Would he be able to stand by and watch her happily holding some lucky bastard's hand, knowing that lucky bastard could have been him if he hadn't been such an idiot and messed things up?

Zoro didn't realize he had been holding back his breath until he felt his chest hurt. He exhaled heavily. His vision suddenly became crystal clear.

"I want her back." He told Ussop, stressing every word of his with an air of certainty. "And I'm going to have her back. Nami is my girl. No love-cook in the world can steal her away from me."

"Now you're talking!" Ussop grinned, patting the determined swordsman on the shoulder. "I'm so proud of you, buddy~~but not as much as of myself! Do you see it? This is what I do! I inspired you, Zoro!"

Pointing a thumb into his skinny chest, the long nosed boy continued in a melodramatic tone. "First Franky, and now you? Woah~I'm on fire tonight! You guys just can't get anywhere without the help of your Great Love Expert Ussop! Well, as much as I hate to be the puppet master of the group, I guess I can think of some way to get Nami to talk to you—"

An extremely horrified expression took over Zoro's features. It was not until this moment that he realized what he had been doing here. Crap, he was Franky! He was asking for love tips from Ussop and pathetically hoping the boy would be of help!

What had he thought of Franky just then? Oh right, Either the guy was insanely in love, or he was just insane.

So this could mean…he was hopelessly, undeniably and madly in love-with that devil woman.

"Oh crap."bringing up a hand to his forehead, Zoro glanced at Ussop from the corner of his good eye. "You're not gonna make me steal from Robin's flower bed too, are you?" he asked, desperately holding onto his last pittance of pride.

"Or better—"Ussop smiled a mischievous smile as he answered the swordsman. "Let's steal from your girl."

Author's Note: Ma~ma~I know my update is short, the thing is I want to at least upload something before I go travelling.

To Lotus Flower and marion: Sorry for keep you guys waiting. I actually know what I'm going to write, but I've been having problems putting it into actual words( I mean actual English words:P)

And a big THANKS to my other sweet reviewers! Pls don't forget to R & R this super short chappie:)

Minami