Chapter Twenty-Four: Zoro

The following morning, Zoro got up early. He didn't particularly like early, but school would be starting up again in a week and he needed to get back into the habit since Kendo club started two hours before school did and he would finally be able to train again when school restarted.

Again, Zoro marveled at the thought that he was eager for school to resume.

Zoro went for a jog, feeling the heat and humidity try to suffocate him as he ran. Ugh. It had been too long. How come he could go like two or three weeks without jogging and be back to huffing and puffing like a noob? He'd been jogging five miles a day before school ended.

When he got back to the apartment, Nami was awake and cranky, so he took a quick shower and got out of there as soon as he possibly could. He wasn't dealing with her ass today, especially early in the morning. Besides, visiting hours started at eight in the morning so Zoro could go visit Luffy and be in much better company.

On the way to the hospital, he picked up two sacks of food. Both were for Luffy. He doubted the poor kid had been fed decently on his liquid diet and Zoro knew that he'd be ravenous when he got there. Screw the whole waiting twenty-four hours. There was nothing wrong with Luffy's stomach.

Zoro spotted Smoker's car on the way into the hospital. Figured. If the lawyer was there, most likely Nami's mother and sister were there too. The two of them were such pains to deal with. Nojiko gave off more attitude that Nami some days and the woman called Belle, well, she looked like she was wasting away. It was sickening to watch.

Worse still, Sanji was already at the hospital too. When Zoro entered Luffy's room, the only person who looked happy to see him was Luffy, and Zoro suspected that it was partly due to the food he carried. Ace was sleeping off in a corner of the room with that girl Nojiko on his lap and Sanji was sitting by Luffy and talking to him.

Not seeing Smoker in the room, Zoro dropped off the food and made up the excuse that he had to go to the bathroom. It wasn't a lie, but Zoro didn't plan to come straight back. He was looking for Smoker.

Zoro had thought a lot about Nami's options the previous night and came to the conclusion that he needed advice from someone that could be at least somewhat reliable. Zoro didn't exactly trust the ex-cop, but he didn't think he was the worst person to go to for advice. Lawyers couldn't tell your secrets if you confided in them, right?

In the waiting room area, Zoro found Smoker with Nami's mother again. No big surprise there. The woman looked like a train wreck. Her Mohawk hair hadn't seen a brush in a couple days and the woman herself probably hadn't seen a bed in just as many days. The deep, dark circles under her eyes suggested that she was on at least her second or third—probably third—day without sleep.

"What can I help you with, Mr. Roronoa?" Smoker asked with a tinge of annoyance in his voice. Now that Zoro looked at him, he seemed a little bedraggled too. Huh.

"Got a minute?" Zoro asked.

"Not really," Smoker muttered. "Can this wait a day or two?"

"Not really," Zoro responded alike.

"It's okay Chaser," the woman assured him. I'll just go see if I can get Nojiko to leave her little boy toy for awhile so we can go grab a bite together."

Though the woman spoke to Smoker directly, she had that same zombie-like look in her eyes that Nami had the night Zoro had run into her. Maybe that weird detached state ran in the family or something.

Smoker sighed deeply as he watched Nami's mother walk away and head towards Luffy's room.

"What is it?" Smoker asked, turning to Zoro when the doors closed. He didn't look upset with Zoro, just probably as dead ass tired as Zoro thought he looked.

"Can I count on you for keeping your mouth shut about what I'm about to talk to you about?" Zoro asked. "Because if you go blab this shit to that old boss of yours, I'm never gonna trust you again."

"Fine, Roronoa, what is it?" Smoker agreed, less amicably.

"What's going to happen to Nami when you find her?" Zoro asked. He wanted to know the truth of it before telling anyone where Nami was.

"She'll be taken into custody as a witness," Smoker told him. Zoro gave him a hard, disbelieving look. "Fine, she'll be taken into custody and depending on what kind of information her interrogation brings to light, she may be held as a juvenile criminal indefinitely."

"You'd be her lawyer?" Zoro guessed. Smoker nodded.

"I would. If she'll let me," he amended. "She has the right to refuse a lawyer and in that case I cannot help her."

Yeah, Nami would probably refuse a lawyer. She was that kind of self-sacrificing martyr that would want to keep everyone she'd ever met in the world safe before herself. Stupid woman.

"What kind of things will they ask about in interrogation?" Zoro quizzed him. Smoker was becoming annoyed with it, Zoro could tell.

"Nami is a suspected member of the former Sawshark yakuza," Smoker told him. "She'll be asked questions in regards to when she joined that yakuza as well as her involvement in all criminal activities therein. If she's deemed a victim rather than a criminal, she'll be placed in protective custody until the time comes when she can testify against the remaining living members of the yakuza."

This was why Zoro went to Smoker. Smoker had been a cop for many years and knew what would happen to Nami if she turned herself in. But being a lawyer, he also knew what would be best for Nami in this case.

"What's in it for Nami then to turn herself in?" he asked, getting to the heart of the matter. Smoker gave him a sharp look. Zoro tried to maintain a neutral look. He didn't know if he actually succeeded.

"Other than reuniting with her family, getting the medical treatment she probably needs, and being protected from rival gang factions," Smoker listed off, "she'll be one step closer to this horrifying ordeal to be over with. It won't end in a day, but maybe in a few months she'll be able to return to a normal life."

"Those aren't too convincing arguments," Zoro appraised. "Back to a normal life in a few months? You do realize she was being held against her will for like a month. You people want to do the same thing for another three months or so? I wouldn't come back either."

"It beats being estranged from your family for the rest of your life," Smoker snapped. "Because I'm giving you the high road. She's got to come in or she's never going to be able to have a peaceful life with her family again. It'll suck for awhile but then she'll have a better life."

"Whatever," Zoro shrugged. It wasn't his life that was going to be screwed up by this.

"So how long has she been staying with you?" Smoker asked. Zoro froze up and then forced himself to act normally.

"She's not," he lied poorly. Smoker could obviously tell.

"Not that I need to tell you the kind of repercussions you might get for aiding and abetting a criminal," Smoker said, "but she's hurt. She needs medical attention, and the sooner the better."

Zoro grimaced and looked up at Smoker lamely. "She already got some. I dunno. She said she went to a hospital and her wounds were stitched up and stuff. I make her stay still so she doesn't tear them open like she did the first night, but I think the pain is pretty bad."

"What happened the first night?" Smoker asked.

"She escaped the hospital," Zoro reminded Smoker, his tone making it sound obvious. "She was terrified that someone was going to find her. I only got her to stay by making a deal with her. I don't know how long that deal will last; probably until the pain dies down enough for her to run again."

"Well, you can tell her what I said," Smoker instructed. "No need to mention that you failed to keep her hiding place a secret. I want her to know the best option so she chooses it. Now excuse me. I have to go make sure that girl's mother eats. She hasn't been taking care of herself at all since Nami's second disappearance. And you can tell her that, too."

Smoker turned and headed for the elevator as well. Zoro watched him go and debated. Was it worth it to stay? Zoro didn't know. He had no family to speak of. Only the dojo. If things got as bad for him as they had for Nami, he'd leave. Nothing except memories that he'd be sad to leave behind.

But Nami may think differently.

.o0o.

It was deceptively quiet in Zoro's apartment when he got back. Usually Nami was pissing and moaning about something when he returned if she was awake, and he had to sate her complaints with updates on Luffy. It was the only thing that ever got her to stop bitching for awhile. So since the apartment was quiet, his guard went up.

Nami was sitting on his futon staring blankly at the wall. There was no expression on her face whatsoever. It was weird. It was like she'd gone back to the catatonic girl he'd found in front of his apartment a couple weeks ago. She didn't even flinch as he noisily dropped a sack of takeout onto the counter.

"Food's here," he announced, though she should be able to smell it. Still no reaction. "Saw your mother. She looked like shit."

Still nothing. Fine. He'd give in and say the only thing that would likely bring her out of her stupor.

"Luffy's doing better. Better than anyone expected. They have a release date in mind for him," Zoro told her. Nami blinked. Slowly, life returned to her face. "They think he'll be out in two weeks. So he'll only miss a grand total of one week of school."

Nami finally looked at him. She didn't look annoyed as she usually did. In fact, since he hadn't seen this face in awhile it was hard to recognize. But he finally remembered. She looked afraid.

"He's getting out?" Nami repeated.

"Yeah," Zoro confirmed. "Did you hear me say I saw your mom?"

Nami looked away. "Yeah."

That's it? Really? She sacrificed herself for her fucking family and now she doesn't give a damn about their health? What the fuck? Women were so damn weird.

"I also saw Smoker. He said some stuff you might be interested in," Zoro added. Nami wasn't staring at the wall anymore, but rather out the window now.

"I doubt it," she replied bitterly, surprising Zoro. He hadn't expected her to even respond. "But go ahead and tell me anyway, since you're so eager."

"I'm not eager," Zoro denied with a snort.

"You brought it up," Nami pointed out. "You usually don't give a damn enough to speak more than ten words past the daily Luffy report to me. So this means you're eager."

Daily Luffy report? Fucking bitch was not catatonic all this time; she was ignoring him. Zoro's blood boiled. This broad needed to go. The sooner the better.

"The subject of you turning yourself in came up in conversation today," Zoro spat. "He said it'd be better for you if you did it, versus staying on the run. You'd get through with the bullshit within a couple months and be back to a normal life."

"I've never had a normal life," Nami denied. "And I doubt I ever will."

Debbie-fucking-downer. That's what she was. And Zoro wasn't going to play into it. He dug through the sack of takeout and grabbed some chopsticks. He flopped violently down onto the futon, making sure to jostle Nami while he was at it. If he'd had a deadly fart to blow, he'd have blown it in her face as he passed. Fuck, he was tired of her as a roommate.

"I was thinking," Nami spoke up when Zoro was almost done with his food. If she didn't go get some of her own, he was going to eat it all. Screw it; he'd take the stomach ache later.

"I was thinking when you got back," Nami repeated. "About what I should do next. It's good to know what one of my options is. Thank you Zoro."

Zoro paused for a few moments. Was this a trick?

"I was thinking of going to All Blue," Nami went on. "It's much bigger than East Blue and I figured I could disappear there pretty easily. I know my way around the criminal circuit too, so it wouldn't be too hard to find the right people who could give me a new identity. The only obstacle is time, since I'm not really up to par and I'd need to be on my game to steal enough money to buy myself a new life."

Zoro realized he'd stopped chewing mid-mouthful. He finished chewing and swallowed, wondering why Nami was spilling her guts to him. Maybe she was just saying it out loud?

"I never actually once considered staying," Nami went on. "Especially since Sanji came yesterday. He had basically the same reaction that I think I would get from anyone if I turned myself in. Lots of yelling and asking if I'm okay but not listening to hear if I am and trying to make decisions for me again."

Yeah, Zoro wouldn't want to go back to that either. Point taken.

"So when you tell me that I could be back to a normal life again in a few months, I just don't believe it," Nami told him. "And I doubt I'll ever take advice from Smoker. He's not got my priorities in mind; he has my mother's. He'll want me to go back to her as soon as possible, just like he told you. And if I do, I'll never not have someone trying to move me in the direction they want me to go. All in the name of my safety or whatever. I just want to have claim over my own life."

"And what would you do with your life, if everyone didn't try to run it for you?" Zoro asked. It sounded like she wanted to be kind of like him. On her own in a small, one room apartment with minimal adult supervision. That could be achieved if she emancipated herself from her mother, but did she really want that?

"I don't know anymore," Nami chuckled. "Isn't that sad?"

"You got nothing?" Zoro asked. "Really? Not even go off and, I don't know, con people out of money?"

"You're right, I do enjoy doing that," Nami admitted with a half smile. "But no. I think I would want to just hang out with my friends all day."

Zoro snorted. "I do that at school."

Nami blanched.

"What?" Zoro asked.

"I never want to go back to that school," Nami whispered. "Ever. If I can help it."

Zoro stared at her. Sure, school sucked, but he got to sleep through most of it and the rest of it he spent hanging out with Luffy. It wasn't as bad as she made it sound.

"Do you know who my first customer was?" Nami asked, out of the blue.

Customer?

Zoro had heard something about this. Not much, since he was mostly concerned with whether or not Luffy would live through surgery, but that guy Sabo had said something about Nami being a Mermaid and Mermaids were in the service of the yakuza—

"It was Crocodile," Nami answered before Zoro could finish his thought. "My first fucking customer was Crocodile. And he's cruel fucker."

Zoro knew Crocodile was an ass. Everyone knew. But why was he—wait, Crocodile knew where Nami was the whole time?

"What the fuck?" Zoro muttered. The bastard! He knew where the yakuza was, where Nami was the whole time and he didn't say a fucking thing to anyone. Why would a principal hide the location of a missing student and a yakuza? "Was he being blackmailed?"

"Hardly," Nami snorted. "He was the winning bid for my first time. Guess you just didn't realize how much of an ass he was until now, did you?"

Zoro's head was spinning. "First time?"

Wait—cruel fucker? As in fucked cruelly?

"Yeah, Arlong auctioned off the first spot in line to fuck me," Nami replied with a heavy sigh. "And like I said, Crocodile was a cruel fucker. He even told me he wanted me to keep my clothes on so he could fuck me in my school uniform."

Suddenly takeout wasn't sitting well with Zoro. He took a few slow, deep breaths to quell the sudden nausea.

"Not really relishing the idea of going back to school next week," Zoro admitted. "Holy fuck. You think he fucks the students?"

Nami shrugged. "If he has something to hold over them, probably. He knows everyone's secrets. So if he knows a good enough one, I could see him doing that."

Zoro shook his head slightly to clear it. There was a lot swirling around now. Nami, who had been a Mermaid, was apparently a call girl, and was fucked by their principal.

"How did Luffy know where to find you?" Zoro asked. It was the one question he'd been unable to puzzle out on his own.

"By accident," Nami admitted. "He saw me and followed me to Arlong Park."

Yeah, by accident sure fit Luffy's persona.

"So you were a call girl?" Zoro summed up, both horrified and grossed out by the idea. He was not physically attracted to Nami at all. She was all skinny and pale and full of bruises. Yeah, her rack wasn't that bad but he liked a butt on a girl and Nami didn't have one.

"I was a whore, Zoro," Nami put it bluntly. "Pretty words like 'call girl' don't lessen the crappiness of it."

"I didn't want to know any of this," Zoro whined somewhat. But it was the truth. He was happier not knowing things like his principal was a pedophile.

Silence filled the room again after his declaration, and Zoro wondered if he'd offended Nami by telling her he didn't want to know her troubles. A glance at her showed her to be not even paying attention to him. She looked like she was still puzzling out what to do with herself.

"Can't you just turn Crocodile in for pedofelila?" Zoro suggested. "I mean, someone's gonna throw a fit if they find out the principal of Lougetown Senior High visits yakuzas and fucks under-aged students."

"Would you cross Crocodile?" Nami returned.

No, probably not. He wasn't just a cruel fucker. He was a cruel fucker. There'd be hell to pay, and the price would be high. Now that he knew more about Crocodile, Zoro wondered how high that price could get.

"Change schools?" was his next suggestion.

"School has no point to me without my friends," Nami replied. "I don't even really need to go. I could take the aptitude tests now and graduate early if I wanted."

"Show off," Zoro muttered.

"Sorry," she apologized very unapologetically. "I have to leave. I know I do. I have troubles that will follow me back home if I go there, and that was the whole point of being in the yakuza: to keep my family safe. But what's on my heels now is a whole other ball game. And that boy—no that man from the Flevance Clinic can't know where I am or how to get at me."

The Flevance Clinic? What, back from when they'd all taken down the bastards holding Ussop hostage? Zoro couldn't remember a kid being there other than themselves. And the only man there was the doctor. No confusing him for a kid.

"I worry about you guys, you know?" Nami told him. "You guys, who have the misfortune of being my friends. I worry what I'll bring to darken your doors too. Both Luffy and Ussop got shot, and you and Sanji took a rough beating as well. What's going to come your way next because of me?"

Her words were picking up speed and volume, as though panic were threatening to take over. Zoro glanced at Nami again and saw that wasn't far from the truth. He'd never seen her cry; even when she'd shot herself, but now she was on the verge of what looked like hysterics.

Oh, hell no.

"We were there because we wanted to be," Zoro spoke up quickly, trying to fend off the water works. "Not because you led us there. We came for you, but we're not victims. We were active participants. We chose to take those risks; you didn't make us."

"Did you have any idea of how dangerous it would be?" Nami asked, sounding not convinced, but at least not crying.

"Did I expect bullets and people flying out of sixteenth story windows?" Zoro reiterated. "No. But I brought a sword that could kill somebody. Ussop brought knives that would kill somebody. That disgusting flirt blonde knows how to crack someone's skull with a kick. Luffy didn't send that big guy out the window thinking he'd live through it. We knew we were going in and making some hard decisions to do it. If we can't expect the same consequences, then we deserve to die."

Nami smacked his arm as hard as she could with an injured shoulder and fumed at him. "Luffy does not deserve to die! None of you do!"

"But Luffy did go into that room knowing he might," Zoro told her. "I could see it in his eyes that he was willing to die for you to get you back when he came to get me that morning."

"I don't want that," she whispered, and he had a feeling she was crying anyway.

"Tough," Zoro answered. "You don't get a say in what we are willing to do for you."

"I hate you," she muttered into her hands. "I hate you all."

"Uh huh," he sarcastically agreed. "You hate us so much that you're willing to do the same thing for us: sacrifice yourself so that we can get away."

"I hate your fucking face," Nami said as she released her face from her hands and reached over to him. Not expecting it, Zoro found himself trapped in a hug.

Ugh. Women and their touchy-feelies. He sure as hell wasn't going to hug her back.

"I don't want to leave, but I can't stay without risking everyone I love getting hurt," Nami mumbled into his shoulder. "Because believe me, if Crocodile didn't run that school and Donquixote didn't think he owned me, I'd still be there in that classroom with you guys."

"Who the fuck is Donquixote?" Zoro asked, and then stopped himself. "Never mind, I don't want to know."

It was the truth, and despite her teary moment, Nami chuckled.

"Sorry for getting all emotional on you," she said as she let him go and leaned away. "I'm starved. What did you bring home for dinner?"

"I'd like to point out that you've never actually contributed any money to the food fund," Zoro said as he got up and grabbed the rest of the takeout from off of the counter. "Tokoyaki. Take it or leave it."

Nami held out a hand with jewels in it. Just how the fuck did she do that?

"I'll take it," she said grabbing the bag out of his hand and stuffing the bills into it. "I'm starved."

"I don't see how; you don't do anything all day," Zoro complained, pocketing the money.

"I'm healing," she retorted. "It takes a lot of energy."

They bickered like that for a few more hours before they both hit the sack. They even gave each other a few jabs after the lights were out. Zoro felt like after the whole teary escapade was over with, it was probably one of the least annoying nights he'd spent with Nami. It was almost like she was trying to make up for all the shitty days she had been giving him over the last week and a half or so. He had a feeling that was exactly what she was doing. Trying to get back to owing him nothing.

He wasn't surprised when he woke up the next morning and she was gone.

A/N: Please let me know what you think of the story so far. I'd like to think I'm keeping everyone in character, but let me know if I'm not. Also, we're kind of in a transition phase from one story line to the next. So bear with me!