Notes:
Many events in the early chapters will be loosely inspired by the OP canon events, but adjusted to suit this story. From Alabasta on it will get less and less inspired by canon events.
Nami looks through the papers hectically. No, the text is not here. It has to be here! She moves her almost-burnt candle to the next shelf and checks the next stack. Nothing. She runs a hand through her hair. She is sure it has to be somewhere in this office. Arlong keeps the most important documents in his office, meaning the transcript of the newly discovered papyrus has to be here. Unfortunately, he lacks organization so much that Nami is not even sure he knows what that word means. It makes her search difficult, but she will succeed. She has to.
Nami stands with her back to the door when it slams open. She freezes.
"Be quiet!" A deep voice hisses to his companion, who laughs in response.
"Don't worry, Zoro! Nobody is here!"
Nami regains her senses at that and ducks under Arlong's desk. It seems she is lucky and they didn't see her yet in the dark. She hopes they will leave soon. But who are they? They are not Arlong's men. Are they thieves? If they are, and she truly hopes she is right about that, luck is on her side as nobody will suspect her even if she steals the transcript.
Unfortunately, from under the desk, Nami can't see the intruders. She can only go by what she hears and that is mostly rustling and steps. They must be looking for loot.
"And who are you?" The man with the deep voice, Zoro, is suddenly in front of her under the desk.
Nami shrieks in surprise. Zoro's hand shoots up to cover her mouth.
"For God's sake, woman. Keep quiet if you don't want to get us all caught!" He hisses. Nami glares at him. In the dark, she can't make out his features, but his body shuts out the light from her candle... her candle! Of course! That's how he knew she was here!
"Oh, somebody was here after all!" The other man says cheerfully from behind Zoro and the latter lets his hand fall again.
Nami doesn't see it, but she is sure Zoro rolls his eyes as he stands up and makes space for her to come out from under the table. He is tall. Much taller than Nami and his shoulders are broad. Really broad.
"What were you doing under the desk?" Zoro's companion asks, his head tilted to the side comically. He is shorter than Zoro, and leaner and wears a straw hat on his head.
"She was hiding, Luffy," Zoro deadpans.
"Huh? Why?"
Zoro doesn't dignify that with an answer and turns to Nami instead. "Who are you?" He asks.
"It's impolite to ask about others' identity without introducing yourself first," Nami gives him her sweetest smile. She hopes that it hides how scared she is. That undignified shriek earlier was already bad enough, she can't show any more weakness to these strange men. She has a goal she needs to achieve!
Zoro snorts.
"I am Luffy, and I am going to be the king of tomb raiders!" The straw hat interrupts. "And this is Zoro."
Nami hadn't expected that they would actually introduce himself and judging by Zoro's glare he hasn't either. She is torn on how to proceed, but it probably isn't the worst idea to keep them happy until she figures out how to get out of this.
"I am Nami," she smiles at Luffy.
Before she can say more, Zoro speaks again. "And tell me, Nami, what are you doing here so late, just with a candle for company?"
Nami's hands clutch the rim of the desk behind her, but she keeps the smile on her face. "Just looking for a few notes. And you?"
"Just the same," Zoro replies without missing a beat. The grin on his face seems genuine - the bastard thinks this is funny!
"Can you read ancient Alabastian?" Luffy asks out of the blue and Nami's gaze shifts to him. He is peering into a stack of papers she has already deemed useless.
"I do," Nami replies carefully. "Don't you?"
"No," Luffy says cheerfully. Her gaze automatically shifts to Zoro. Somehow, it does not surprise her that Luffy wants to become the king of tomb raiding without knowing the most useful language for actually doing the job. But Zoro's lack of response tells her that he lacks the skill as well.
"Are you telling me you want to be the king of tomb raiders without either of you understanding ancient Alabastian?" Nami asks in disbelief.
"That's why we are looking for somebody who can understand it," Luffy replies, completely unbothered by her tone. "Do you want to join our crew?"
Nami is stunned. At this point, she is not scared anymore. These clowns can't be dangerous if they are this unprepared. "No, thank you. I work alone," she says and turns her back to them. She has already spent too much valuable time talking to the two men.
"Too bad," Luffy says but continues looking through papers and judging by the shuffling next to her, Zoro starts doing the same. The clock ticks in the background, signaling the seconds that pass by. Nami does not know how much time has passed - but it can't be much - when Luffy declares that he is bored.
"What are you looking for anyway?" Nami asks without stopping her search.
"None of your business," Zoro says at the same time Luffy replies with "The new papyrus with the map."
That last sentence catches Nami's attention and she whips around to face them. "What do you know about that papyrus?" She asks, her eyes flying from one man to the other. Maybe she has underestimated them.
"Huh?" Luffy is surprised by her reaction. "It is the map of the Grand Line of course!" He says as if every child knew that. Nami grits her teeth. She has underestimated them - this is information only known to a few selected scholars in the East Blue. For them to be aware, it must mean that they are either well-connected or well-respected in the local circle of archeologists - or both. The discovery of a papyrus depicting the mythical road to Raftel has not been shared with the public on purpose. She knows about it only because she has overheard Arlong explain its importance to Chuu.
"Judging by your expression, you are looking for the same thing," Zoro states without looking up from the stack of papers he is going through.
"Oh, really? Then you should definitely join our crew!" Luffy beams.
"As I told you, I work alone," Nami says with a sigh and steps to the bookshelf. She didn't finish looking there. She feels Zoro's eyes on her back but pays it no attention. Luffy has given up looking through papers and has started to pick up trinkets and poke at other things. Even if Nami wanted to work with somebody ever again, Luffy's short attention span would not make him her top candidate. It was already starting to get on her nerves. Sure, she could have been busted by worse people, but that doesn't mean she has to join their tomb-raiding crew.
The silence that follows doesn't last long again. But this time, it is a loud thud that interrupts it. Nami and Zoro turn to Luffy to reprimand him to be quiet at the same time, but the sight of a safe where a painting used to hang renders them speechless.
"I guess we found the map," Zoro says dryly next to her. Nami nods, stunned. She has worked for Arlong for so many years - how the hell did she not know about the safe?
"Zoro, can you cut it open?" Luffy asks, his head tilted to one side again. It must be his default thinking pose. "Or should I rather pull it apart?"
"No! I will open it!" Nami interferes before they can do something very stupid like using a method to open the safe that will trigger every single safety mechanism in the damn thing. If it succeeded at all.
"Great!"
Nami works in silence as the two men watch on.
"Hurry up," Zoro, who is standing next to the window says suddenly. "Somebody is coming!"
Nami glances at the clock. It is much later than she anticipated - she has wasted too much time because of the two men and the night watch is already coming to check on this part of the campus. "I am working as fast as I can," she hisses back. She closes her eyes and takes a few calming breaths. She has to concentrate for this to work. She turns the combination dial to the right and hears a soft click. Another number was correct. Only two more.
"Three men entered the building," Zoro says from the window.
That means she has only about five more minutes.. she won't make it!
"Move," Luffy says suddenly and pushes Nami away gently. He grabs the front of the safe and starts pulling. He pulls, and pulls and - did it move? Nami isn't sure but it kind of looks like the safe does not align with the wall anymore.
"Hurry!' Zoro, who is at the door now, a hand on his sword, hisses. "I think they are on the floor directly below us."
Nami puts her arms around Luffy's midriff to help him pull and is about to demand Zoro do the same when the safe gives in. Not having anticipated it, Luffy stumbles backward, taking Nami with him, and they fall through the window together with the safe. Nami screams and clings to Luffy with everything she has. She doesn't want to die! She will kill this idiot herself if she dies here!
They land with a thud. Somehow, they have twisted themselves in the air and the safe hits the ground first, then Luffy hits the safe, and Nami lands on top of Luffy. Her arms hurt from where they are squeezed between Luffy and the cold metal, but otherwise, she feels surprisingly okay. Luffy underneath her, on the other hand, does feel decidedly not okay. He is so... squishy?!
"Luffy?" She yells as she scrambles off him.
"Yeah?" The man in question stands up as if he didn't just fall from the third floor and turns to look at her. "Is something wrong?" He asks, scratching his head.
"How on earth are you okay?!"
Luffy's face lights up at the question. "A little fall can't hurt me," he says cheerfully and stretches his cheek with his finger. "I am a rubber man! I ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi!"
Nami's jaw drops. This kid has eaten a devil's fruit?! What on earth is going on? She doesn't have time to contemplate the news further as the courtyard fills with guards from the nearby buildings.
"Don't move or I will shoot!" Shouts one of the guards and points his gun at Luffy.
Luffy seems completely unbothered by this and even laughs at the guard, who steps closer and pulls the trigger. Nami's blood runs cold. She has to do something! She can't watch him die! But it is over in a fraction of a second. The bullet hits Luffy - and bounces off!
"Told you I was made of rubber," Luffy says in Nami's direction and she laughs out in relief or hysteria. She is not sure which. She can't believe this is happening! Unfortunately, the guards recover rather quickly from the shock and draw their swords. Nami pulls out her quarterstaff, ready to defend herself.
Luffy is surprisingly strong considering his scrawny figure and unserious demeanor and Nami holds her own as well, but more and more guards are coming and they are both quite ill-equipped against swords of all things.
"Lu-" Nami tries to warn Luffy about an attack from the back when the guard falls. What-? She is pushed to the side suddenly and Zoro gets rid of the man who was about to slice her into pieces.
"Pay attention!" Zoro commands as he continues the onslaught against their attackers. In no time, the guards are all unconscious thanks to Luffy's and Zoro's combined attacks. Nami doesn't want to ponder if knocked out or worse.
"Should I open it now?" She asks instead and kicks dirt at the safe. Stupid thing.
"Not here," Zoro says and picks up the safe. Nami's mouth falls open. That thing has to weigh at least 100kg! Nami stares after him as he walks towards the exit of the university square, the safe balanced on his shoulder when Luffy turns to her. "You are joining our crew, right?"
"No," she replies instinctively but follows the two men. After all, they have the safe with the papyrus transcript.
Nami jolts awake. Where is she? What was that sound? Her heart beats frantically as she takes in her surroundings. She is on the train, in a private compartment. Zoro sits next to her, leaning against the wall closest to the exit, arms crossed over his chest, deep asleep, while Luffy lies on the opposite bench and snores happily. Nami relaxes slightly. They are on the night train from Conomi to the port city of Syrup Village. They managed to leave the city without getting caught by Arlong or the Marines. They are safe for now. But what was that sound?
"The suitcase toppled over," Zoro says from next to her, his voice clouded with sleep.
How did he know...? Nami stares at him, but he doesn't even bother to open his eyes. He stays in his corner, still as a statue, his chest moving up and down as he breathes - the only sign that he is indeed alive. Nami allows herself to study him for a moment. She didn't have the chance to do so before. He is surprisingly handsome in a rough way, with his golden skin and angular features. Even the short green hair suits him, not to mention the three golden earrings... She averts her gaze. She should stop looking at him and go back to sleep.