One Piece:
Show Me
Theme: Drive - #9
Pairing: Roronoa Zoro x Nami (Nakama-ship)
Rating: T (Sexual Implications)
Timeline: Post-Timeskip
"NAMI-SAN!" The stupid love cook yelled the navigator's name more times than any single Mugiwara cared to count. From morning to night, for a meal or unnecessary praise, he exclaimed her name so many times, it could be the slogan on his wanted poster. Sung on every note a human male was capable of hitting, bundled in ever emotion any creature was capable of feeling, it would be completely unsurprising if other crews encountered assumed she to be the captain, with the chanting of her precious name.
Except, now, it was not being chanted.
No, the name of the Cat Burglar sounded as if it had stolen Sanji's composure, and achieved such a feat by striking him with horror.
Alerted and curious, the swordsman peeked out from behind the mast of the Thousand Sunny, where he had unknowingly taken his nap on this bright yet chilly spring-like day. What he found upon his turnaround was a small gathering around the supposed red-headed navigator, preventing him from ascertaining what it was that had caused the prince to shout so indecently. However, being a man who waged many battles and defeated a multitude of foes, he knew how to read the faintest twitches and twinges that most people failed to notice that they made; as if the crowding at the Sunny's side hadn't been indicative enough, the rigid posture many of his nakama carried or the clenched fists at his captain's side spurred Roronoa Zoro to stand from his post and waddle over to see whatever was the matter.
"Relax, Sanji-kun. I'm fine." Scolded Nami from behind the many heads of their friends. Though there was a firmness in her tone, there was also a distinct sound of gasping behind her regular angry huffs.
"What happened to you!?" Usopp shouted, surprisingly maintaining a relentless tone when facing off against his usual scaredy-cat bosom buddy.
Chopper pushed through a few pairs of legs, demanding, "Let me see, let me see! Let's go to my—"
"Guys, knock it off! I said I was fine, so leave it."
As Robin cooed and tried to reason with the flustered navigator – stepping forward to only further obstruct Zoro's view - it was his captain who he heard clearly. While cracking his knuckles, he turned to his first mate and glowered. "Zoro," he said with as much force as if he had channeled his Conqueror's Haki into his voice, "let's head into town."
"What? No, Luffy, you don't—"
"You're not going without me." Sanji declared. His captain's summon was chilling on its own, but to have Dartboard Eyebrow appear so fierce meant there was definitely something he was missing due to his late arrival upon the scene. Something cold managed to mingle with the boiling of his blood and his hand immediately feel to his Wadou's scabbard.
Throwing her voice over Franky's shoulder, Nami protested wildly, "There is nowhere to go! Forget it, guys… Just let it go!"
"To touch a lady in such a way," Brook sighed as he finished his afternoon tea. He immediately placed the cup on the rim of the Sunny's wall and performed the same reflex Zoro had had, "is unforgiveable, for a man, demon, or pirate."
"We can't let this creep get away with this." Of all people, Franky sounded emotionless as he punched one of his gigantic fists into the other. For the first time in a while did he don his sunglasses, as if to shield any of the innocent from bearing witness to the fury he housed behind them. Luffy nodded, appreciating the aura he was emanating and the eagerness his fellow nakama shared in making someone pay for an apparent offense against Nami.
"Ikuzo! Let's get this—"
"I said, E-NOUGH!" And as always, Nami's opinion reigned supreme when she screamed to get her way. It felt as though a bubble – like the encompassing one that had taken them to Fishmen Island not too long ago – made solely of violent energy popped against their willingness, its remnants sagging unwillingly to the ground. The command was so jarring, a few of the battle-ready men took a step back with an truly staggering amount of shock.
Only then, did Roronoa Zoro see whatever it was that was the matter.
"I told you it. is. FINE! Do you really think I would let this happen and not do something about it!? Besides, someone called the Marines for me, so those idiots are already long gone. Just…shut up about it—Sanji-kun, I want some tea, and some of my mikans… and I want them NOW!"
Since it was not he who she was ordering around, Zoro barely heard a word she said. No, instead, he was much too focused on the sight before him: Nami, the most willful woman in the world when she wanted to be, was clutching tattered ribbons of clothing to her bosom to shield her nakedness. The infamous Cat Burglar was flushed, with imprints of hands on her skin in places that shouldn't have borne them. Their proud navigator looked embarrassed as he stood before them all, hair mussed, Climatact clenched to the point of blanched knuckles against her bare torso, her breathing still a tad staggering.
Nami had been assaulted in town on the island they had docked and ran back to the Thousand Sunny after escaping her attackers.
His anger was incredibly belated after her mention of Marines – he assumed, no, hoped that was something he heard her say – as the concoction of heat and ice flooded his being. The way the temperatures fused and rose throughout his body made his skin feel as if it all needed to be scratched off, like an all-consuming itch. A battle didn't mean disrobing an enemy; this was an attack on a woman by—had she said there was more than one?
If he believed in a God, he knew who he would be praying that He'd strike down next.
Suddenly, it registered in his mind that Robin and Chopper were leading her away from the gathering and towards the Women's Quarters. While the doctor insisted on an inspection and Nami resisted the entire way, it was the archeologist who looked back at the remaining men and eyed them. For what reason, Zoro himself could not guess.
Besides, the frost had set inside of him, and all he could do was glare frozen daggers at the world.
His reaction had been impossible to ignore, nor had anything he had ever experienced replicated the sensation. Typically an introverted man, Zoro never made his feelings abundantly clear to others, as he felt those who knew him could read him and it kept him from needing to enunciate his thoughts and emotions with words. It was something he appreciated…most of the time.
The words he wished to say were choking him while he trained his day away up in the Crow's Nest, all on his own.
The rest of the nakama were suffocating Nami with their attention, of that, he was certain. Before he had decided to climb his way sky high, Sanji had gone to knock on the Women's Quarters' door, bearing the snacks the navigator had requested, followed closely by Usopp. When he had reached his makeshift dojo and gone to collect a dumbbell he had rested by the window, he saw Franky bowing his head inside the doorway. And now, with the sun nearing its decent, he could not ignore the distinct sound of a violin and an enchanting tune, muddled by fierce, familiar shrieking Zoro knew all too well.
Hearing the crew enjoy themselves after what had happened today felt…absolutely bizarre. This wasn't at all comparable to the time she had fallen ill on their way to Alabasta. Should they be crowding her, pampering her, when she had so clearly wanted time to herself? As the thought occurred to him, the swordsman realized that he was genuinely surprised he hadn't heard any disruptive screaming emanating from beneath him until the sun began to set.
Was that a sign that something had gone wrong, and he should be with them?
Zoro carefully tossed his war hammer weights over his head as he shooed the thought away. He stood by the belief that Nami needed her space…and that his lack of comprehension of experiencing such a thing would do nothing to ease her. In fact, knowing her, she might detest his silence and he would have been to blame for her expelling of the men from her room. It was best that he be the only one behaving differently – giving her space, time, a chance to breathe – before he continued on with her as if nothing ever happened.
She was their navigator, he was the first mate.
Nami was Nami, and he was Roronoa Zoro.
Nothing some swine in some backwater town could ever do to make him think otherwise.
Being who she was, Nami was also recluse, in her own right. One by one the nakama may come to her door, but Zoro imagined that she was growing weary of their tenderness quite quickly. Looking up at the ceiling as he panted weakly from his bare-minimum workout, the swordsman couldn't help but recall the many times Nami had surprised him by not behaving as how many expected of her; she painted quite a picture when trying to trick them into leaving Arlong Park, only to stab herself when she realized all of her efforts were for not; she fought back tears in Alabasta when the war had burst out in the square and demanded that they continue in their pursuit to help Vivi; Bellamy had tried to buy her off and she had responded so easily to something that would have normally lit her like a match; she demanded some of the action in Punk Hazard, stating she hadn't had her fill, even after rallying the children and running away from Monet.
A chuckle escaped him as he recalled it all, yet the last of his memories only reminded him of how he – regardless of how his perception of Nami was interpreted to him giving her space after her trying day – failed to say anything, any slew of words that made him experience some unknown satisfaction.
It felt ridiculous! Nothing he could say would change what had happened to her, nor modify the feelings she may had been forced to feel! Much like how he was suffering through…this demon possessing him to suddenly communicate himself to her in such a state!
He couldn't help it – he threw his weights to the ground and huffed most displeasingly. Zoro didn't think of himself as one to have stressful habits – or rather, he barely felt stress to begin with – but he couldn't stop himself from running his two calloused hands through his sweaty brush of hair. Holding the back of his neck made him stare into the ground…and he felt as though he was bowing in a form of consent to the strangle-hold that had been following him around like the leash of an invisible noose.
Somehow, he'd need to somehow help her recognize that he…would support her. As he always had, the ex-pirate hunter and the cat burglar went hand in hand when it came to so many things, and his ever-fated role of coming to her rescue meant that he would come to aid her by simply being at her side. Yes, he still wouldn't speak to her the way the Prince of Dumbass Kingdom would, or shower her with affection the way his captain or Chopper might, and he certainly wasn't going to make her something or read her a bedtime story the way some of the others most likely did, but he'd find a way to make Nami see that he…was grateful she knew how to defend herself.
Especially when he wasn't there to satisfyingly do so for her.
When Brook came to take his post for the night, Zoro didn't have the supposed endless courage he possessed to ask him how the navigator was shaping up to be. And in fairness, the singing swordsman hadn't made a peep about it either. Bearing a bit of shame, the first mate stomped his way down the ladder along the mast of the Thousand Sunny and inhaled a deep breath of the nighttime sea breeze. Suddenly craving a dip in the cooler waters, he smartened up enough to decide that he could manage a quick bath before bed.
After all, he was pretty sure it was that day this week…
Almost positive he hadn't let it pass him by.
He noticed the light in the Women's Quarters was quivering behind the porthole window in its door and wondered who could still be awake, if any of the male crew members still dared to be entertaining the ladies.
He secretly hoped that Number Seven had been the first one to go to bed.
By the time he reached the bathhouse, he had already imagined beating his supposed friend's in many imaginary duels, some involving a few underhanded debilitating tricks a man should never use. So distracted was the swordsman, that he failed to notice the steam sneaking out from the creases around the bathhouse's door, as fair a sign of occupancy as the light in the Women's Quarters he had witnessed a moment ago.
Curiously, he knocked, "Oi."
"Z-Zoro?" Squeaked a voice from inside.
It couldn't be… "Nami?"
"Ah, yeah. Sorry, is it your bath night? Just give me a minute and I'll be done—"
"Ah, no it's fine. I can just bathe in the morning."
"Trust me," she sounded amused, yet also degrading, "no you can't. I'm just rinsing anyway; I'll be done in a flash" – when he didn't answer as quickly as she would have liked, she added on swiftly – "and you better be there when I get out, or I'll dump a cold bucket of water on you the next time I catch you napping!"
That was a hefty threat, considering how she always seemed to sneak up on him when he was sleeping his day away. Damn nakama and their asinine friendships.
Zoro sighed, trying to sound irritated by her heavily veiled kindness, "Alright, alright. I'm waiting. You better not have used all of the hot water."
"Well even if I did, how could I have known you'd be here to save you some?" In other words, he would be bathing regardless – even if they had to switch places and she watched the bathhouse door – and he would damned well enjoy himself, whether he wanted to or not.
Her haughty threats could sometimes deter him from interacting with her, but the spunk he distinctly heard from her lifted a weight from his shoulders he hadn't known he'd been carrying. Perhaps that was why he had failed to workout to his extreme capacity: he had been unknowingly holding onto an entity he hadn't even known was there.
Though Zoro wasn't foolish enough to feign obliviousness as to what it was about.
The gently splashes from inside the bathhouse were almost hushed when Nami spoke, even if it was in a much gentler tone, "You would have been proud of me today."
He had never once offered more than a smirk when indicating a sense of pride over an act of Nami's before; how could she know if he would appreciate some act she had committed? Especially on today, of all days. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," Nami answered while sounding bashfully giddy, of all things, "I never struck any of those guys in the back, even if I really wanted to."
Another of the Mugiwara might have told her that she should have gone for the kill – if she had any chance to strike against an assailant, she should have taken it and exploited the bastard's weakness. In all honesty, a part of him felt that way too. However, she was absolutely correct in assuming that he'd feel something for her accomplishment, knowing she beat down and turned in criminals without resorting to trickery.
Yet he had no chance to tell her as she went on, most likely due to his silence, "You may not appreciate me kicking the ring leader between the legs, but I electrocuted all of them after a thorough beating with the Climatact."
Oh, did he ever recall the times he had been electrified. Nami's weapon wasn't as devastating as Enel's lightning Devil's Fruit powers, but for something manmade, it packed a powerful punch. If those men were mere mortals, they were going to suffer a great deal for what she had done to them.
That was perfectly fine by him.
"Are you still there!?"
"Yeah, yeah," Zoro grunted as he waved his hand at no one, "I heard you."
"What, are you remembering the time I shocked you?" He heard that glee in her voice!
An angry red rose in his cheeks, "Tch, no. Just growing old out here." He cared not for whether she could hear his pitiful response all the way in the bath or not. So disgruntled was he that he actually turned his head away, as if she could see him show such dramatic disinterest.
It wasn't like Nami to care for his state of comfort, regardless. "Don't worry," she sang, "with how strong I've become, they were hurt a lot more than you were." Somehow, that comment was meant to assuage him. Appease him, maybe, but only if he thought of her to be sincere in her attempt.
He would never insult her by thinking so.
Nami was laughing quite fiendishly as she seemed to approach the door, only to stop a few steps away. Most likely she was drying off and dressing before exiting the room; he was close to being rid of her and enjoying so relaxation and privacy, time away from her and her spiteful schemes—
Perhaps today, of all days, the least he could do was be on his best behaviour – and by which, he meant his typical way of acting out against her – without insinuating she was a vengeful, harmful hell beast. His opinion had not changed, that was true. Regardless, the swordsman knew he could refrain from vividly imaging any hellish words in his mind in association with the navigator, Nami.
Though thanking him was not something she was accustom to, she surprised him once more with her voice from behind the door with a secret tidbit he hadn't known he wanted to know, "You know, I tried to tell the others that my bikini wasn't ripped off of me by any of the guys on purpose."
"Really?" So he said, but being involved in such a conversation made him feel as if he was rising in temperature once again.
"The only reason it came off was, it was so old! When one of the guys tried to beg me for mercy, he actually tugged on it when I was turning around to hit him, it ripped as he fell over and passed out." Was how Nami explained herself as she finally opened the door and showed herself to him after spending the entire day apart.
Tonight, she wore a simple t-shirt and shorts combination, though it failed to appear so simple when worn by her. Ignoring what she wore, what really captured his attention was – even with a few imprints on her cream skin beginning to colour and show – how brightly her smile shined up at him, demonstrating to him that whether he had felt a surge of pride from her story, she was more than willing to feel a great deal of pride for herself.
She never indicated how many men there were that had assaulted her, how the skirmish had happened or how long it had lasted, but from what she had been willing to discuss with him, he could only imagine that she had been as brilliant as she wanted him to think she was.
That, alone, gave him reason to grin, too.
Zoro felt possessed then as he smiled and offered his hand, raised high and posed for a high five. There was a flash of surprise in her eyes but Nami was graceful enough to brush it away and took him up on his offer. As their hands smacked together, two words bubbled up out of his throat before he knew what to do with them.
"Good job." He muttered the phrase just loud enough for their ears only.
Somehow, Nami's smile widened to that of Luffy proportions, inspiring him to smile larger as well. It felt like a genuine grin – not a menacing smirk or a small gesture in a friendly chat – and he was almost proud of himself for having been brave enough to offer to the one woman who could do with it as she saw fit.
She took to bed as she headed off the night, bidding him farewell with a gentle wave of her high five-ing hand. Watching her sashay as far away as he could before being spotted, Zoro inhaled once more as another mysterious weight removed itself from his being, feeling as if it was the final in a pair of two. Unintentionally had he encountered Nami on such a strange night, and their talk had been – by his standards – exceptional in so many ways. He had done his good deed of consoling in the way he saw fit when it came to dealing with the navigator, the cat burglar Nami.
The smile he wore transformed into the smirk of his oh so easily because, ultimately, in his eyes, he had done what was best by one of his nakama, better than the rest, and it felt better than ever before.
Author's Notes:
It's not as ooey-gooey, lovey-dovey as some of the others, but it feels right to me. I think imagining this from Nami's perspective would help one see how much she'd appreciate having someone like Zoro, who would focus on what she can accomplish and how skilled she was in handling her own situation. Feel free to give me your thoughts on this!
I wrote this while listening to You're Not Alone by Saosin, and Stand in the Rain by Superchick (both as AMVs I first watched in high school! The nostalgia was warm and bubbly~) over and over again. If you haven't heard of these songs before, I highly recommend checking them out!
Thank you so much for reading~
