Stop-off at Gloomy Island

by navitor3

Her eyes opened. Slowly images began to form. Slowly she became aware of her surroundings. Finally, she was fully conscious.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of One Piece.

A/N: Okay, so back to that time when the timeskip began. No other straw hats in this one-shot. Only our favourite couple. I hope this hasn't been done before. ;)

Stop-off at Gloomy Island.

~o~

Her eyes opened. Slowly images began to form. Slowly she became aware of her surroundings. Finally she was fully conscious.

Her eyes widened when she failed to recognise the dark room she was lying in. She forced herself up into a sitting position. "Where am I?" she said in a hoarse voice. The two crew mates she had last been with came to mind, their panicked voices still echoing in her head. And she said their names. "Robin? Luffy?" No sound of footsteps or voices followed. She stumbled off the bed, her sandals loudly hitting the hard, stone floor. It felt as if she had slept for days. She was still wearing the same clothes.

Nami couldn't understand anything about her situation. The last thing she remembered was screaming for help when that 'monster' had turned to attack her. But if he had attacked her, then how was she alive? And why was she in this cold room? She made her way to the single small window in the room. Its size and location high up on the wall told her that she was in a basement. Through it, Nami saw nothing but grey mist. "What is this place?" she asked, trying to think things through but having nothing to go on. Between her most recent memory and now, there was nothing. Nami decided that maybe she had just lost consciousness and Luffy and Robin had brought her to this place. But that thought made no sense to her. The atmosphere outside was dark and gloomy. It looked nothing like Sabaody. It was as if she was somewhere completely different. Another island? She hurried to the door. Hopefully her hopes would be realised and on the other side of that door, she would find the whole crew. Everyone safe and sound.

The door was locked.

And then Nami noticed a bowl on the floor. She walked over to it. Fruit. And beside it, a bottle of water. "I'm a prisoner!" she said.

Two days later...

There was nothing. NOTHING in that room or its small bathroom could be used to unlock that door. Nami had talents. Any piece of wire and she could be free. But there was none. So she'd resorted to two days of screaming her head off, banging her fists against the door and throwing things at it. One wobbly chair could attest to that. Where were the people holding her? Why hadn't they come to gloat or tell her her fate? Something! Anything!

Suddenly she heard it again. Hollering. Yelling, Whining. For most of the time she had been conscious had she heard that from afar. The single voice seemed to move around above her. One moment a little closer, the next, far away. What horrors may be happening to other possible prisoners? The thought had crossed her mind that the person could be Luffy or Robin. But Nami didn't want to think that. She had to get out. And then she heard a click coming from the door.

If she wasn't mistaken. That door was now unlocked.

Nami grabbed the now empty water bottle from the floor and listened for any footsteps or voices outside. There were none. She turned the handle and the door opened. Her eyes adjusted easily to the soft light from the few working lamps in the stone passageway on the other side of the door as she peeked through the little gap she had made. The passage would be just as cold looking as her room if not for the warmth of light. She opened the door further and stuck her head out. The coast was clear.

Nami slipped out of the room, closing the door behind her, just in case her 'captors' were not the ones who had freed her. Standing in the passage, she chose to go right, but suddenly she heard someone crying out again, louder now that she was outside of her room. Fighting the urge to just run in the opposite direction, Nami decided to find out what was going on. Bottle firmly in hand, she hurried down the long, dimly lit passageway, taking a peek in other empty rooms she passed along the way.

Eventually she found stone steps and climbed them. At the top were shorter passageways. Nothing up there seemed different than the bowels of the building she had just come from. More cold stone. The voice was heard again. It definitely was male, and it seemed to be moving as it echoed over the grey walls. Nami ran to the first window she could find and squinted through the glass. No signs of life seemed to exist out there as the light of day had been swept away, leaving the now gloomy atmosphere covered in nothing but pitch black darkness. Nami continued in the direction she believed the voice had come from and then at the end of one broad isle was a landing overlooking a large, sweeping staircase. Nami heard voices coming from below. Cautiously she made her way to it, bottle in hand, craning her neck over the railing to see who was below...

"Zoro."

Upon hearing the utterance of his name, the green-haired swordsman looked upwards to find Nami standing at the top of the stairs. "Nami." Her name was said with similar confusion. They stared at each other; both their mouths open with surprise. Nami couldn't believe he was there and looking well. Nothing like the last time she had seen him. Zoro couldn't believe that after two days of being in that castle, she had all along been there without him knowing. Nami felt she should slap herself for ever thinking that he could be gone and no more. But it all felt unreal. Like a dream. As if they had been apart for a very long time. Zoro moved to the foot of the stairs. "I didn't know you were here," he said, thinking out loud.

She gave a faint laugh as he mirrored her thoughts. Nami was glad to hear his voice, to have him speaking to her. Relief was washing over her in wondrous waves. "I didn't know you were here, either." Her gaze moved to the girl with the pink hair who was floating in the air close to a couch. She looked familiar. Nami glanced over the large, sparsely furnished sitting room, searching for the rest of the crew. "Where is everyone?" she asked, putting the bottle on the floor and descending the stairs, feeling more at ease now that she had found Zoro.

"Everyone," he said. Zoro turned to the other person in the room. "Why the hell didn't you tell me she was here?!"

Perona twiddled her fingers innocently. "I didn't know who she was. I thought she just got lost or something. I put her in one of the rooms."

Nami stepped off the stairs, expression turned deadly. "It was you who put me there?" she asked. "You forgot to mention the part about the room being down in the cold basement and keeping me locked up in it for two whole days!"

"What?" said Zoro.

Nami and Perona glared at each before it dawned on Nami where she had seen the girl before. "I saw you at Thriller Bark. That monster made you disappear... just like our friends." She turned to Zoro. "Just like us and Sanji-kun, Usopp, Franky, Brook, Chopper and... probably Robin and Luffy too."

Zoro frowned. "They're not here," he said. "I looked around."

"Horo horo horo. More like ran around like a crazy blind person," said Perona.

Zoro growled. "Shut up!"

"That was you making all that noise?" asked Nami.

"What?" said Zoro awkwardly.

Nami threw her hands up into the air. "This doesn't make sense! Where are they? Did he just randomly send us to different places?"

"Not me." Perona folded her arms with a snooty expression. "He asked me where I wanted to go and I said somewhere dark and gloomy. Horo horo horo horo."

The navigator eyed her with disinterest. "Did you find a way off the island?" she asked Zoro.

"Not yet," he said.

Perona snorted. "He couldn't find his way anywhere."

"I said, shut up!"

"I'll have a look. Come on, Zoro." Nami headed for the door.

Zoro remained where he was. "It's nighttime. You don't know what's out there."

"Then what, we're just supposed to sit here in this gloomy place and wait?" she asked.

Zoro understood her fears and need to do something, but this was not the time. "We'll take a look tomorrow when it's light outside." That was the last he'd say on the matter. Zoro dropped himself into an armchair and yawned. He needed rest after two days of looking for his room and running from a creepy ghost princess. Nami's presence had settled him somewhat. If they were well then most likely the rest of the crew were also. Once they found a way off that island, they could maybe get back to the Sunny and plan their next move from there. He dozed off.

Nami wasn't pleased and Perona liked it. "I'm okay with waiting, too," she said, floating over and hovering over her new toy.

Nami sat down on the closest seat. She was not keen on exploring the gloomy island on her own, most especially not at night. And her 'protection' was still healing from his wounds. She looked at him. Zoro was as strong as a human could get, but he still needed time after everything his body had been through. In just a span of a few days, she found herself yet again sitting and waiting for him to wake up. Her expression softened.

After minutes of impatiently swinging one long leg over the other and back again, Nami couldn't sit still anymore and started looking around the large room. Perona observed her with her creepy black pools, not happy at all with the presence of the navigator. She had been elated when the swordsman had showed up, glad that she wouldn't have to be alone on that island, but the navigator was just in the way. Having a dumb male as a servant instead of a smart female guarrenteed a loyal service.

Nami knew the girl was watching her and it made her want to cringe. She hadn't like her from the get go and especially didn't like the way she clung to Zoro. Since when were they so close? "Thanks for leaving me alone with the pink freak," she said under her breath.

"Did you say something?" asked Perona, comfortably lounging in the air behind Zoro's head.

"No," said Nami.

More minutes had passed by, and by now, Nami had actually found what seemed to be a master bedroom. She came across a filled closet and gathered that a man lived there alone. A rather elegant male by the looks of his clothing – many frilled shirts and dark coats. A few chests rested on the floor to one side of the room which, unfortunately, held no treasure. She did however find a few maps, and if no owner showed up, she'd definitely snatch those up.

"Where's Nami?" asked Zoro when he awoke, stomach growling as he stretched his limbs.

"Upstairs, I think. Probably snooping around," said Perona with disinterest. "She's a nosy one, isn't she?"

"Why didn't you go with her? This place is a creepy maze," said Zoro.

Perona pulled a face. "She's a big girl." Zoro clicked his tongue and hurried up the stairs, taking two steps at a time, and Perona flopped down on the couch. The ghost princess was so bored with the swordsman being all protective and not stupid. "Try not to get lost while you save your girlfriend!"

Zoro froze. As expected, "Shut up!" he said and ran off.

Perona rolled her eyes. "And learn some cuter words," she said in the now quiet room

A frustrated Nami heard doors being slammed closed as she left the master bedroom. "Nami!"

"Over here!" She hurried around a corner to find Zoro in the next passage.

"Don't just walk off like that woman," he said, coming to her.

"What's going on, did someone arrive?" she asked.

"No."

Nami's eyebrows shot up. "So calm down," she said and moved to a window nearby. Zoro cleared his throat and followed her move. They tried to see through the large window, but it was too dark outside. "Where do you think they are? How could we all be separated like that? And that girl, she said she chose to be in a place like this."

"He asked me, too," said Zoro.

Nami turned to him with startled eyes. "And what did you say?"

He shrugged. "Nothing. It didn't really seem like a real question. More like he was thinking out loud. Seeing into my mind. Guessing? I don't know." Zoro didn't like remembering how defeated he had felt at that moment.

Nami remembered that moment too. "I thought you might be dead." Zoro snuck a glance at her face. She looked deeply saddened by that thought. "Could it be he sent you here for a reason?" she asked, looking up and catching his eyes on her. Zoro quickly looked away.

"I don't know. Maybe. If that girl was."

"So you don't think you know this island, that you've ever wanted to be here?"

"I don't know the name of this island. Looks like there's nothing here but a castle and ruins, so why would I wanna be here?"

"Maybe in some strange way, he knew you wanted or needed to be here without you knowing it?" Nami sighed, frustrated. "That doesn't explain why I'm here. It's a castle with no treasure. I'm starting to get the feeling I'm not even supposed to be here."

"Don't worry like that. At least you're here with –" Zoro froze and dared watch as Nami's large brown eyes settled on him for just a second before she mercifully ended the awkward moment by walking past him.

Zoro's cautious gaze followed her until he had to turn his head to keep seeing her. "Where are you going now?" he asked. She kept walking and he followed after, sticking close to her side.

Nami spared his form a brief glance as they took the corner. "Where are your swords? You are a swordsman aren't you?"

"Don't judge me, woman."

~o~

"This castle really needs a woman's touch." That was Nami's opinion as she and Zoro returned to the sitting room after having checked out some rooms and finding nothing. Not even his room. Not that Zoro had mentioned that to Nami during their exploration, just quietly searching for swords while Nami searched for clues. She didn't know where his room was, anyway. "Maybe the owner doesn't really live here. Maybe he comes here for a reason." Zoro and Perona had nothing to add, so Nami gave them some direction. "I'm starving after eating nothing but fruit. Where's the kitchen?" she asked Perona who was still on the couch, peeping over the back with her creepy dark pools.

"I know where it is." Zoro started walking. He clearly remembered passing it while trying to get back to his room in that confusing castle.

"It's that way," Perona said to Nami, pointing to a passageway next to the stairs.

The navigator recognised the girl's frustration over the swordsman's bad directional skills. "Zoro!" she said in an authoritative tone.

"Hmm?" He stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"This way, genius." Nami pointed to the passageway with a thumb.

"What the hell is it doing over there?! This castle keeps changing!"

"Yeah, yeah." She waited as Zoro passed her and entered the passageway, before turning back to Perona. "Where are his swords?"

"In his room," Perona said and sighed. "He'll get them when he finds it."

Nami went to the kitchen not noticing how black pools burnt into her back. Zoro had actually made it there; he stood munching on an apple as he raided the fridge. "Anything good?" she asked, joining him. The swordsman grunted out a yes with the apple stuck between his teeth. There were some eggs, milk, bread, butter and wine. He snatched the latter up and left the fridge. Nami rolled her eyes and took the bread and eggs and butter. Perona appeared in the doorway of the kitchen seeing Zoro standing and drinking straight from the bottle and Nami comfortably finding utensils and starting to prepare dinner. If the ghost princess had to pick, she'd say the navigator was more useful than the swordsman, but the woman was too smart to do her bidding. The swordsman would do as a suitable toy. She snickered at that thought, but then pouted, wishing with all her heart that the woman would just... disappear.

"Hey, creepy kid," said Zoro, snapping her from her thoughts. "Where are my swords?"

Perona rolled her eyes. "I'll have some hot cocoa with whatever that is you're making," she said to Nami and floated away.

Nami slammed the pan down on the counter. "EXCUSE ME?!"

"Oi!" Zoro left behind the eaten on apple and wine and went after Perona.

After a lot of yelling and whining echoing across the halls of the castle and Nami spotting Zoro actually running by the kitchen a few times, she was finally finished cooking dinner. Nami shook her head. Prisoners being tortured, indeed. She came from the kitchen and found a now quiet Zoro proudly standing and examining his swords. She gave him a pitiful but pleased smile and lead the way to the dining room, shoving his plate into his hand. Perona was already seated at the head of the table and frowned. "Where's my cocoa?" she asked.

"In your dreams," Nami said. She dumped a plate with bread and eggs in front of the ghost princess.

"Ugh. Eggs for dinner? Why do they look so dry?"

"Nothing like the ero-cook's, but it'll do." Zoro was quite contented with what was before him. It was a cooked meal, after all and not fruit that Perona had thrown at him since he'd woken up two days ago. Nami felt a tinge of sadness as she sat down and Zoro regretted the mention. "Oi Nami," he said from across the table. She lifted her eyes to his. "We'll find them." Zoro was as firm as ever, unflinching. Exactly what she needed. She nodded and he smiled. "Besides, who else will look after our childish captain?" She returned the smile.

At the head of the table, the ghost princess narrowed her eyes at the smiles exchanged between the swordsman and the navigator.

After a quiet dinner, the pink-haired one fled the table first, feigning some urgent matter that had to be taken care of, and Nami and Zoro were left behind with the dirty dishes. "So Luffy and Robin were still there when you..." Zoro said after some silence between them.

Nami nodded. "I called for help, but... there was nothing they could do. I was so scared." Zoro could barely look at her, feeling ashamed that he'd been at his weakest when it counted the most, when his captain and crewmates had needed him the most. "Zoro." He looked up into Nami's frowning eyes. "It's okay," she said, trying to relieve his guilt. "There was nothing you could do." He looked away again. "Obviously everyone's okay. We're proof of that, so we just have to keep looking forward from here on." His expression didn't change, so Nami's only solution to that, instead of attempting to touch him, was to take charge. "Right," she said. "We have dishes to do."

Zoro frowned as she rose from the table. "Nami," he said, forgetting his miseries. "This isn't our house, we don't have to do anything."

"Yeah," Nami said with a sigh, eyes distant for a moment. "But I hate chaos." As much as she hated doing chores, she needed to keep things in order. Otherwise she'd start to worry. Zoro understood that as he watched her. "Hopefully we'll leave here tomorrow and miss princess can see to her own meals and dirty dishes." Zoro helped carry the dishes to the kitchen. When there, Nami went to search the cupboards. "You wash, I'll dry."

Zoro took a sip of wine in defiance. "I'm not wetting my bandages," he said.

"Fine, you lazy idiot."

"Yeah, I'm lazy," said the cocky swordsman and a dishcloth hit him in the face. He dropped it on the table and finished off the bottle. "We better find a way out of here soon. Staying here is boring."

"Don't say that yet." Nami found a bottle of dishwashing liquid and soaped up the water in the sink. "We don't know what lies out there." Zoro came to stand by the sink, not able to see anything through the window above it, either, except his reflection on the glass. "Zoro, are you fit to fight?" asked Nami, eyes on her work.

"… Yeah," he said.

"Good, so start drying."

He picked up the dishcloth. "Nami," he said.

"Hmm?"

"Don't get used to this."

"See how easy it is when you just listen?" She was looking down at her work but Zoro made out the little smile on her lips. He smirked.

~o~

The night was quiet, except for the gentle hooting of some owls and what Nami believed were bats screeching in the distance. She had claimed the unoccupied room beside Zoro's, which, to Perona's shagrin, lay right between hers and Zoro's. But the ghost princess wouldn't exactly complain because her room had the best view of the ruins on the island.

Nami couldn't sleep. She got out of bed, hissing as her bare feet touched the cold floor. She tied on her sandals and slipped out of her room. She had to check on him. To make sure he was still... there. Stepping out into the cold passage, she missed life on the Sunny, her warm bed, her caring friends. Where were they all? She started towards Zoro's door. Most likely he was asleep, but she had to see for herself.

"And where are you going?"

Nami cringed and looked over her shoulder. "Oh it's you. Don't you sleep?"

"Can't." Perona's tone turned pitiful as her mouth shaped into a pout. "I think I had something bad for dinner." Nami growled but then, "Here," said Perona, reaching into her room and tossing Nami's clima-tact at her. She caught it and looked it over. Perona sneered at her. "Funny looking thing. Not cute at all. So like a… pole."

"Not if you saw what it could do," said Nami.

Perona laughed. "Not before you saw what cute things I can do."

Nami wasn't really interested in finding that out. Perona's devil-fruit user status called for some caution. "Why did you lock me up for two whole days, only to just let me go?"

"How else were you supposed to leave?" Perona asked simply.

"You thought I'd just leave?" Nami was cocky even though she clearly remembered trying to do exactly that until she had heard the voice in the distance.

Perona grimaced. "Your room was so close to a door in the basement that leads straight to the woods, and still you made it all the way to the sitting room."

"Yeah well, I'm not going anywhere without Zoro," said Nami.

Perona so regretted that she had set the woman free. She had kept her hidden in the bowels of the castle in the hopes that she would wear Zoro down with no interruptions and get the swordsman under her thumb, but for two days she had watched him aimlessly trying to find his room that contained his swords. After two days of being a prisoner, she had thought that the woman would gladly flee the moment the opportunity arose. Who would have thought that the two would be so unpredictable? She had to admire the navigator's tenacity, but she was too much of an influence on the swordsman. Perona cleared her throat loudly. "He needs his rest," she said. "Didn't you see how wounded he is?"

Nami put a hand on a hip. Did this girl have the nerve to tell her what she could and couldn't do with Zoro? "If anyone here knows Zoro, it's me," she said. "He's already had the rest he needs. Pretty soon, he'll probably be taking those bandages off." An ache formed in her chest at the thought of how Chopper had not so long ago forced bandages back onto him. Chopper.

The ghost princess scoffed. "That's stupid, those wounds aren't healed yet."

"Tell him that," said Nami.

Perona's fists clenched at her sides. If anyone should know her new toy, it should be her, not the orange-haired nuisance standing before her. She seriously had to find a way to get rid of her! "In case you didn't notice, he's my servantnow," she said.

Nami stared with utter disbelief. "You, Princess of ghosts or whatever you call yourself, are seriously delusional. Zoro doesn't belong to anyone. He's his own person."

"Funny," said Perona. "Then how come you were bossing him around before?"

Nami scoffed. "That's what I do. I'm good at giving people direction."

"Well, why don't you just direct yourself off this island? You're in the way."

Nami didn't like the way that last part had been said or the dangerous glint in the girl's dark eyes, but she took one step towards her, stubbornly staring her down. Surely Zoro would avenge her if she died right there. "As far as I've seen," she said, teeth clenched, "Zoro wants to leave just as much as I do. So when I find a way off this island, he's coming with me!"

Perona grinned. How would the pest look all depressed and huddled on the cold floor? She was dying to know!

"Oi!" They looked over at Zoro's door. The swordsman was standing there. "Oh, it's just you two. I thought something had happened," he said. "Cut it out with the yelling. It was bad enough living with one of you for months. Now there's two." Nami and Perona were both horrified and glared at him, and then at each other, seriously insulted by the comparison. Together, they moved over to the swordsman, Nami walking, Perona floating. They stopped in front of him. Zoro's one brow raised. "Hmm?" Countless stings of electricity shot through his body and then a dark cloud of depression hung over him as he sank down on all fours. "I'm not worthy of judging you two. I'm a lousy swordsman. I bow down in shame."

Nami was stunned at the pitiful sight before her that was Zoro. Perona wondered where the crackling grey cloud had disappeared to that had just hovered above him. "Not bad," she said.

Nami shrugged. "My fist could have done it just as well. Neat trick with the ghosts." She cringed when one still hovered nearby before disappearing.

When he found his feet again, Zoro growled at them. "The hell do you think you're doing?!"

Nami rolled her eyes and swiftly took charge. "Zoro, I have to talk to you," she said and the seething swordsman was pushed back into his room as Nami looked over her shoulder at the ghost princess. "In private." Perona was livid, left behind, pouting in the passage. The light from the lamps in the passageway cast a minor glow on Zoro as he stretched out on his bed in the dark. Nami closed the door behind her, keen on keeping Perona out. "Zoro," she said.

"Huh?"

"I can't see you. Don't you have lamps in here?"

"I don't know." He didn't really care about that. All he came there for was sleep.

Suddenly Nami stumbled over one of his boots and lost her balance. Her hands went to the bed for support and her clima-tact hit him on the forehead. "Ow, woman!"

"Dammit." She straightened herself up.

"Why didn't you just leave the door open?" he asked, rubbing his head.

"I don't want to talk with that pest around." Nami walked over to one of the large windows, taking her clima-tact apart. No moon shone outside to light her way. "That girl's crazy, Zoro," she said. "She thinks she owns you." He scoffed. "I'm serious. She staked her claim and wants me gone."

"Well, she should just try something." Nami smirked at his response and had nothing more to say. Soon she lost herself to her private thoughts as she stared out of the window. "Nami?" said Zoro after she'd been quiet for some minutes and he was starting to doubt that the silhouette next to the window was actually her.

"Still here," she said.

"What did you wanna talk about?"

"Oh... I wanted to check if you were still here." She shifted hair behind her ear. "I didn't really have anything to say."

Zoro took in the soft sound of her voice in the dark. How many days had they spent apart since meeting that first time in Orange town? None? He had the sinking feeling they were supposed to have been separated on that fateful day when he was sent to this place. "I think you were right," he said quietly.

"About what?" she asked.

"I don't think you're supposed to be here."

Nami's back hit the wall behind her and the cold of the stone seeped through her thin blouse. "W-Why are you saying that?"

"I don't know. It's just... I've been thinking about it. This place... is eerie. I think it's dangerous here. It's just a feeling I get. This island isn't safe. Not for you. If he sent everyone to places they needed to be, then this definitely, is not where you should have gone."

Nami shook her head. "I don't care," she said quickly and obstinately. "As long as I got to see y –" The navigator slapped a hand over her mouth. Was there ever a better time to be standing in the dark? She stood like that for quite some time before Nami heard Zoro move on the bed. Barely she made out his silhouette as Zoro slipped on his boots and rose from the bed. Her hand shifted away from her mouth and she gulped. He was coming to her. More of him becoming visible as he neared the window.

Nami seemed so small and vulnerable. Was it just because she was quiet in the dark? Because she didn't break the silence? He saw her hand drop to her side. "You thought I could be dead," he said, stopping by her.

She nodded her head. "Yeah. You were just... gone."

"You didn't call out," he said suddenly. Nami's eyes widened and a little breath escaped her that both of them heard. He had revealed something that had never been mentioned before and Nami wished the dark would envelope her more and make her invisible. The tone of his voice... the things he was saying. This moment between them couldn't possibly be happening. She hadn't called to him and he was aware of that? That way she of all people would sometimes scream his name out of fear for him. Nami remembered covering her mouth and not being able to scream and shout. The horror had been too much to absorb.

Suddenly her words came flooding out in one rush. "I'd never seen you like that before." Her breath ran out and she barely finished the short sentence.

"Like what?" The tension was obvious in his voice.

"... Broken," she said, wondering how Zoro would take that. And then Nami noticed his arm move just before calloused fingertips touched her fingers. "Zoro?" Her voice was nothing but a whisper as a thrill passed through her. The proximity. The lack of visibility. His touch.

When he spoke, his voice was soft and quiet like hers. Not a whisper. Just not like Zoro's. "Wasn't my choice to leave," he said.

She nodded in agreement, knowing how hard that must have been for him. "Don't ever do that again." Her words were an order as much as a plea hidden in a faint tone that betrayed nothing. "I told her I'm taking you with me," she said, her voice a little stronger now.

"How?" he asked.

"Any way I can."

Zoro liked how her stubborn determination still burnt bright. She may fear what lay outside of that castle, but she would still stand her ground when she wanted something or... someone. "I don't know about that," he said deliberately. "She is a devil fruit user."

Nami gulped audibly. "So what? I'll take her on. She's nothing but a little princess. You're coming with me."

Zoro didn't want to say it, but he had a bad feeling. Just as quickly as the crew had been separated, he and Nami could now be separated. He'd never experienced anything like that before, to be taken away and left in what seemed like the farthest corner of the world. The unknown was too great and too sudden to ignore. Nami could be gone and when would he see her again? Ever? He moved his face to hers, hesitating that last moment before, softly, he touched her lips with his.

All Nami managed was, "Zoro, what are you –?" before time stood still and the world became silent. The floor beneath her sandalled feet seemed to give way, leaving her floating in the air. Even though her heart was racing, she couldn't find much reason to breath.

The kiss was softer than she could ever have imagined coming from him. Her hands touched his cheeks as her lips moved with his. It seemed surreal. The darkness kept all other realities at bay. In it, and away from the crew, all inhibitions slipped away. They were displaced, unsure of their fate, but they were together. That mattered. His hand rested on her hip. Nami brought him closer by wrapping her arms around his neck. He was still sore, unhealed; she touched his hair tenderly. Zoro stopped the kiss. "I think I know why you're here," he said quietly.

"You do?" Her eyes were large, her lips, moist and swollen. But it was too dark to see. Zoro leaned in and brushed his lips over her cheek, laying a tender kiss there. He could lose her at any second. He felt it. If not focused so intently on his touch Nami might not have noticed the soft kiss. There was such caution in their movements. They were allowing themselves that moment to be close and yet the crossing of invisible lines affected how they touched each other. They were so careful; shy. "Why?" she asked. How could he possibly know why she was there when they hadn't found any proof?

His face was in front of hers again. "You don't know," he said.

Nami became impatient. "Of course not. How could you know?" He kissed her. And the floor disappeared beneath her again. But Nami wanted answers. She pulled back, her hands settling on his bandaged shoulders. "Why, Zoro?" He encircled her one hand with his, keeping it on his shoulder and with that simple act, a thought floated through her mind.

It couldn't be.

Try as she might, Nami couldn't close her mouth. It was all so true that back on Sabaody, she had wanted to know where he was, hesitating when about to flee, speaking his name a last time as if there was hope that they could reach him. Had that been so powerful a desire when the pacifista had finally dispatched her?

Nami had nothing to say for some time, her hand laying in his. The pain formed in her chest as she started shaping the truth into words. "I couldn't scream, I couldn't reach out to you. I was numb with fear." Nami stared at him. That was what she'd felt and it only sank in now, bringing tears to her eyes. "I've seen you in danger so many times before, and this time, when it really mattered, I couldn't even reach you with words."

Zoro lifted his other hand, finding her temple with his fingertips and trailing them down her skin, feeling his way around the delicate curve of her cheekbone, and ending up catching a tear he couldn't see but could feel. He tasted its saltiness on his tongue. Nami could make out what he was doing. His hand went to the back of her neck, the other slipped over her waist as he pulled her quivering body against him. "We'll be okay," he said. Nami was stunned as he, Zoro, held her close and comforted her. She felt helpless and weak as the familiar pain tore through her. She'd watched as Zoro had – as her mother, Bell-mere, had, so long before him – stood at the mercy of one more powerful than he, unable to defend himself. That wasn't Zoro. He was never supposed to be weak. She'd come to trust in that. But warrior or not, he was still human. He bled and hurt just like the rest of them. Inside and out. She hugged him tightly. This was a chance that didn't come along often. This kind of honesty between them.

~o~

They had cereal for breakfast, the next morning, quietly munching away with Nami having trouble keeping her eyes open so much that everyone at the table noticed. "Should have slept last night instead of walking around," said a bitter ghost princess, who flew off, empty bowl left behind on the table. Nami growled under her breath.

"Didn't you get any sleep?" Zoro was seated across from her, watching her.

"Yeah." After their embrace, Nami had left his room, feeling better and trusting that he would not be going anywhere. She had slept soundly and now couldn't understand her drowsiness. Being part of the straw hats she'd sometimes had to survive on as little as two hours of sleep. And even then she'd never felt the way she did now.

"You're up to it?" he asked. "We can go alone."

Nami ran her fingers through her short hair, inhaled a deep breath and then exhaled. "I'm not staying behind."

Zoro nodded.

Nami carried the dishes to the kitchen, herself, using that tedious chore to get the blood flowing to her drowsy head. It wasn't that she was exhausted, just having trouble keeping her eyes open. She lingered in there for a bit too long and Zoro came to find her. "Nami."

"Yeah?" She spun around.

"We're leaving now," he said from the doorway.

"I have to get my clima-tact upstairs."

As she reached him, "You okay?" asked Zoro.

"I'm okay, Dr. Zoro," she said.

"You don't really look sick."

Nami sighed. "Just sleepy. I guess the universe knows I'm not supposed to be here." They made eye-contact.

"Chopper's not here," he said. "We don't know if there's a doctor anywhere on this island. You could get hurt."

"Zoro, I can't sit here and wonder what's going on. This place is too creepy. I'm not staying."

He looked over at the sink. "Dishes have to be done," he said, turning away and strolling lazily down the passage.

Nami followed behind. "Yeah. Just three bowls and three spoons. You should be able to manage cleaning that up if we came back here," she said, amused. "While I went off to bed."

Zoro snorted.

Nami went upstairs and came down a few minutes later, her screwed together clima-tact in one hand. Zoro was in the sitting room with Perona, ready to take on any danger outside.

"Zoro," Nami said.

He saw her just standing there. "You gonna stay after all?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "But who knows how much walking we'll have to do. I don't think I could manage. You'll have to carry me." She smirked at Perona and the girl's fist clenched tightly around the handle of her umbrella.

Zoro growled, a natural reaction what with their history of piggy back rides and trampling of backs. But he knew that Nami wasn't messing around... not completely. "What?" Perona said, dumbstruck when he actually went to her.

Zoro looked Nami in the eye and then picked her up, one arm supporting her back, the other under her knees. "See?" she said with a little smile and droopy eyelids. "Easy when you listen."

Zoro groaned in response and carried her towards the open doorway. Slowly. Something was wrong, he knew it. It wasn't all an act.

Perona rolled her eyes. "Could you move faster?" she said just as Zoro noticed that Nami's grip on him was slacking.

And then the navigator inhaled sharply, her vision becoming blurry. "Zoro," she said. He looked at Nami just as her head fell back.

Perona peeked over her shoulder. "What's her problem now – ?" She gasped.

Zoro was standing there, looking down at his empty arms. "Nami," he said as if she was close enough that he wouldn't have to raise his voice. "Nami!" Now it was loud as he looked around him. Perona flew across the room and into passageways. Zoro went outside, but as expected, he found no navigator.

Even Perona was taken aback at the sudden disappearance of her orange-haired rival. After sending her ghosts through the walls of the castle, she returned to Zoro where he stood, planted to one spot. "No sign of her. Where do you think she went?" she asked.

Zoro was silent for a long moment before his gaze lifted through the thick mist and up to the grey clouds blocking his view of the blue sky. "Where she belongs... for now," he said.

Perona drifted down to stand on her feet. She huffed. "Who's going to do the cooking now?"

Zoro gripped the handle of a sword. It was time to explore that island and to do whatever he was meant to do there. He'd find his way back home.

To Luffy.

To the crew.

To her.

The End.

~o~

A/N: Yes, I gave Nami two destinations instead of one hehe. Hope that ending was okay. I thought it could be better than a reunion scene. So, at the end of the story, Nami was droopy eyed because she was about to fall back into that deep sleep everyone ends up in when sent somewhere by Kuma. So she eventually reaches her other true destination. :)