A/N: I have only just started watching One Piece but I almost automatically began to ship ZoNami (sue me). Without me ranting, the very first scene they're in together where he saves her from Buggy's pirates seemed very...different to other scenes he's had with other women because it zooms in on her in slow motion with his back protecting her, like it means that their relationship begins here. Anyway, therefore I haven't read the manga and due to not having seen the other members or the new ship, have decided that this is set before Water 7 (as I've only just started that). Apologies for any mistakes etc
PS: there are lemons galore - so if you don't like graphic details, please skim over
Walking silently with purpose into the unsuspecting town of Godai in Oykot Kingdom, he looked from left to right to really take in his surroundings. It looked so serene now in the darkness with no moon to shed light onto the dormant shops.
In the day time it was a vibrant town with the locals hustling and bustling, shopping and working; no different to any other town, or so most think.
He silently removed his pirate Captain's hat to lower it to his chest and dipped his head in respect and almost like an apology for what was about to occur.
"Konton, Sir," spoke a man behind him. His first mate. It's a pity he would be gone too, after this.
"Its time, isn't it Krill?" he spoke without even looking behind him.
Tears formed in the corner of his eyes as he scanned the serene town in front of him because today he would finally have what he had wanted for a long time. The prophecy would come to pass and he would have the elemental he'd scaled the world for. He would rule the world with that girl by his side - even if she was chained, he didn't care, as long as she did as was prophesied.
The eclipse of three hundred years previous will produce many babes that will be born whom Kami gave life. One will ensure the insurrection of your law when you become the King of the Pirates and Leader of the World. A girl with brilliant auburn hair whom elementals are in accord.
He remembered when the seer's blood had spilt onto the earth in front of him and he'd bowed in respect, however, he couldn't allow her to live. She knew far too much.
Captain Konton was nothing short of a demon and was known as a ruthless man with a black heart. He cared for no one and spared no one. His respect was the most important thing to him, however, would never allow this reason to impede murdering someone. He was also very superstitious and believed in various otherworldly things including mermaids, demons, angels and deities.
His crew were wary at all times and some even tried to escape at the risk of their lives. None had been alive to tell the tale, save, for rumours that usually started at a bar after the crew had been visiting.
Konton had but one goal and that was world dominance. He believed he could achieve that with these children that would be born and he was after that elemental girl that was mentioned in the prophecy.
At the age of twenty six, he received the prophecy from a seer after searching the ends of the earth for answers as to why he'd been cursed with the Kutsu Kutsu Devil Fruit. Everyone he touched would scream in agony (and some he didn't touch too - but he had looked at them), hence the name Kutsu (agony) and he wondered why his parents forced him to eat it, knowing what it would do.
He could no longer touch anyone without them feeling pain. He couldn't feel the touch of a woman's hands on his body, nor the kiss of their lips. He was forced to wear gloves at all times and not even his parents could have known that they would die agonising deaths.
But not only that, it forced his body to become cold, unfeeling and painless.
When he had sought out the seer, he hadn't expected such a gift. He no longer cared about the reasoning behind his cold hearted parents who abandoned him after realising their mistake and instead he then looked to the future.
Konton had a crew, was notorious throughout the Grand Line with a seven hundred million berry bounty and now finally, would be able to get what he was owed.
Unfortunately, one of his crew had unintentionally informed the Navy of his plans to decimate this lovely town of Godai but they would never know the reason for his visit.
He'd searched everywhere for a baby girl but none were found. He found a few boys who seemed to have some sort of abilities and so, captured them to take back to his ship. They could be nurtured into lovely killers for his amusement but also to do his bidding.
Konton placed his gloves back on his hands and took one last look at the destruction he caused and a smile graced his lips.
He could wait because one day, he would find her.
In the distance, back in the centre of the small town of Godai, a girl's cry sounded as a young toddler with blue hair carried a babe in her arms.
One Navy marine came to life from the sound, her name was Bell-me`re - former delinquent of Cocoyasi Village.
"YOU!" she screamed, her eyes wide with horror as the bag fell to the bottom of the cliff.
The echoing of the bag and the gold inside it colliding with the ground could be heard faintly below them and all he could do was flinch at the sound.
He looked down at her and gulped and it's not like he should be scared since he was a powerful swordsman, hell, he could slash up enemies before most could blink and slice through cannonballs, walls, mountains and yet...the woman in his arms seemed to scare him more than any enemy he would ever face.
"I-" he stuttered, unsure of what to actually say. He should just apologise, even though he shouldn't have to...
But Nami was pissed.
Yes, he did save her life, granted, but was that an excuse for losing her bag of treasure that took her all afternoon to procure from the mines that Robin helped her navigate?
No, it did not.
And yes, they had just been running for their lives and then had raced to traverse the wall back up to the town. Some pirates had landed on this island too from the Grand Line and hadn't found any treasure but unfortunately, they had spotted Robin looking at some writing that had been on the wall in the mines. Robin met up with Nami with said pirates in tow (thinking them harmless at that point in time) to which the navigator subtly tried to hide her bag.
"Fortune favours the bold" they had said before lunging for Nami.
Luckily Robin suspected their intentions once she saw the bag of treasure Nami had in her hands because she'd used her Tre Fleur to make three of her arms come out of the rock wall and push the nearest pirate down into the mineshaft below them, therein giving the two a chance to get away.
They'd ended up meeting the others at the cliff face, well, they were meant to have met them at the top except that arrows began lodging themselves in the wall beside them while they were in the middle of the cliff.
Nami could hear them yelling at her to drop the bag 'or else' but she was stubborn. Instead she tightened the straps so that the bag could hang off her back so she could climb and dodge better. She looked over at Robin who was using her Devil Fruit powers to deflect arrows as she climbed, so she couldn't help her right now.
An arrow had whizzed past her and somehow had lodged into the strap of her bag. She had tried to dislodge it but apparently all Nami did was tear it and then lost her footing.
Her eyes widened in horror as she began to fall backward when strong arms had wrapped around her waist just as she was about to fall but the bag of treasure, much to her dismay, was sacrificed to save her life.
"If this were a different situation, you would be dead," she said savagely as they were hauled above them by Luffy, using his elastic arm which held Zoro around the waist.
Vaguely she heard Luffy above yell "I'm stuck!"
Everything else was forgotten, including Robin also being in danger (she was a little more capable than the navigator though), but Nami's gold was lost...nothing else mattered.
She had her arms wrapped around the back of his neck to support herself and glared up at him with no mercy. If an outsider watched this scene, it would almost look like a romantic moment due to the close proximity of their faces as they stared each other down.
For Zoro, his expression was incredulous - the fact that her money took priority over her life would never be something he could ever understand about the woman.
"I just saved your fucking life, idiot woman, again," he snapped, the grip around her waist tightening in his anger and his teeth were clenched.
He heard Nami scoff and roll her eyes but then glared up at him again. Neither had noticed the way he held her with an arm around her waist and another around her upper back, holding her front close to his body securely - and she'd latched her legs around his waist in turn. She would have been able to feel everything, if not for Luffy's elastic arm wrapped around Zoro's torso a few times.
Normally he wouldn't carry her like this but with the way he had to grab her from falling and Luffy's arm being wrapped around his body, he didn't really have a choice.
Think of Usopp's nose...think of the love cook's idiot voice… was the mantra he spoke in his mind to keep from feeling everywhere Nami's body touched his and the position they were in.
"You...you owe me a lot of Berries now...more than you could ever imagine."
And those words in itself made him remember that this was Nami; the god damned witch who thought of nothing but money and saving her own skin.
Zoro wondered to himself if Nami always sounded so dramatic and then it was his turn to roll his eyes. "What's new? There's always something you're charging me for-"
"What was that?!" she shrieked angrily, her grip around his neck tightening too, pulling his face incredibly close to hers to the point where she could feel his hot breath on her cheek.
Her eyes were wide now, wondering how she was not going to kill him, except that they were still just below the cliff so if she attacked him or hit him they would probably both fall.
"Nothing…" he said quietly, taking a deep breath and deciding to turn away from her. The sooner he could let go of her the better.
This was why he didn't voluntarily explore islands with this witch of a woman...she was too much to handle and they just ended up arguing. He wasn't actually sure how she managed to push his buttons, seeing how he was pretty disciplined and finding his Zen was part of his training and yet, she always managed to rile him up in some shape or form. Robin was a better partner because she was silent, most of the time and much less dramatic. And he didn't have to save her every two seconds, but, even more than those excuses as to why he tended not to volunteer to be around her was because there was just something within himself that he couldn't trust around her.
Zoro shook his head and bit his tongue for now, ignoring that last thought.
Nami seemed to calm down a little and sighed instead. "I can't believe you, Zoro. We're low on funds you know."
"Tch. Blame that on the Cap'n...man I need a drink after this," sighed Zoro in her ear but the comment was more to himself. "And a nap."
She felt his low tones vibrate through his chest and onto her upper body but could also feel Luffy's arm muscles flex as he started to pull them up again which prevented her from thinking further about how it wasn't exactly awful, being held like this by the swordsman.
In fact, her eyes popped open wide as a thought came to her and then an evil grin spread across her lips as the thought turned into a way to both alleviate some stress and get Zoro back for his incompetence.
"I tell you what, though. I will give you one chance to leave your debt as is. Double or nothing."
Yes. After this whole ordeal, Nami was going to need to let off some steam tonight.
Zoro looked down at her again with a raised eyebrow. His three earrings jangled with the movement, catching her attention for a second before her eyes were back on his too. She gave him a smirk and continued.
"Drink me under the table tonight and you can clear off today's fiasco. But...if I win, it's doubled. There's at least a million berries in that bag down there so you'll owe me around three million berries, since your debt was already at a million."
He let out a laugh as they were finally pulled to the top and thanked his lucky stars when his feet touched the ground. He put her down without a word, letting go of her as quickly as possible.
Nami patted herself down, putting some distance between them for a moment but then she caught him staring at her and so turned to face him, waiting for him to say something.
He looked away. "You're on, but don't cry when I win."
Zoro adjusted his three swords, scoffed at her and walked off. Nami's eyes caught Robin's who was already waiting for them.
"You're okay then, Nami-sama?" she asked with a knowing smile on her lips. "What did he mean?"
She opened her mouth to respond, when a loud, boisterous voice cut through, causing them to turn to look at the offending noise.
"Oi, Nami. What the hell was that?!" exclaimed Luffy, who had just saved their lives.
"Zoro just jumped off the cliff and said 'grab me' and then no one said why!"
Nami groaned and Robin just patted her on the back, showing that she would explain to their dimwitted Captain.
"Well, it started in town, Captain-san…"
Nami awoke with a large headache the next morning. Her eyes began to open but fluttered several times due to the adjustment to the light before finally registering her surroundings.
She groaned, but as she started to move around, she heard a noise that came from behind her and in fact, a rather firmly muscled arm lay around her middle.
"That's strange…" she whispered to herself but when she turned, her eyes widened in shock as she realised what was wrong. And suddenly she was wide awake and shoved the offending arm off her body as fast as humanly possible.
Laying beside her in her bed was none other than that idiot who lost her treasure. Suddenly embarrassment hit her and her heart began to pound loudly in her chest. Nami began to panic as she quickly looked under the covers to find that her worst nightmare had come true.
And in actual fact, where the hell were they?
In situations such as these when you discover you've slept with someone unexpected...one would simply slip out of the room without the other knowing, yes?
And in normal circumstances, Nami would have done just that. In fact, it wasn't even her first time and she knew it wasn't his either due to overhearing a conversation between him and Sanji a few years ago.
And Nami'd had other encounters with men when she'd been in Arlong's pirate crew. Due to the abuse she'd suffered and her general unhappiness and stress, she often took the opportunity to try and feel something in her later years and she'd discovered that the best something just happened to be sex.
However, since joining the Straw Hats, she hadn't got any in some time as she never really felt the need to. That in itself told her that she was happy and she often smiled to herself just thinking how lucky she was; being able to roam the world for her own sake and not for her village or for a monster that you hated. Granted, it was a stressful life with all the fights her Captain and others seemed to get them all in, but, she was free and that was the main thing and so was her village.
So she found it strange that she'd even do this...and with that non-directional fool, no less.
But is he really a fool? Her traitorous mind thought.
Seeing how they seemed to be in a room above the pub (if she had to hazard a guess) she decided against just slipping out unnoticed because they needed to leave today and if she left Zoro to sleep in they would lose time. Besides, he slept on the boat just fine so he could suffer through being woken up, for now.
"Oi," she snapped, slapping him on the cheek heartlessly.
The moss haired swordsman jolted awake and partially unsheathed one of his swords that laid beside the bed.
Nami rolled her eyes, whacking him in the arm this time while her other hand held up the covers above her bare chest.
"We have to leave."
Zoro yawned, holding his throbbing cheek, not understanding the situation they were in, as he stretched and then lazily turned his gaze toward her.
"Why?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "The others can set sail, can't they?"
A vein on her forehead began to pulse and she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to calm herself.
"We aren't on the ship, idiot...we're in a room above the pub, I think," she explained, turning her body to flip her legs over the edge of the bed.
His eyes travelled to her bare arms where he could see her vivid tattoo on her left arm, then from there he noticed her bare back facing him and then his eyes lowered to see the beginning of her bottom cheeks. And why was she in his bed?
Then the penny finally dropped.
"H-hey! W-why are you naked?!"
Nami got up, leaving the covers in the bed as she went to find her underwear. She frowned a little at the state of the room because everything was smashed or thrown around haphazardly.
We must have really been desperate to start things, she thought as her cheeks turned rosy coloured again.
"O-oi! Don't walk around naked-"
"What does it matter?! You've clearly seen me naked last night! And before you start, we definitely had sex because I feel a little sore and just look at the fucking state of the room, Zoro!"
His mouth shut as he took in her words. His dark eyes scanned the room to find a porcelain lamp shattered on the ground, books from a table laid unceremoniously all over the room, their clothes were thrown all over the place, her bra, his pants, both their shoes were thrown all around, with one of them being on top of a dresser and one of hers sat on their bedside table. When he spotted her very slight pair of underwear in a bunch right near the end of the bed, along with his underwear, he started to sweat and felt very hot all of a sudden.
It also didn't help that he had 'morning wood' and so looked away from her. Yes, avoiding her gaze would probably help.
"Not my problem," he said with a huff, folding his arms across his muscled chest in defiance with his head resting on the back of the headboard.
"It will definitely be your problem in a minute when the crew realises where we've been all night!" she exclaimed, throwing Zoro his underwear that landed on his face.
This sent him into action, throwing the covers off and quickly gathered up his belongings. As they both pulled on their clothing items, none could help but hurl accusations at the other with exchanged glares.
Zoro pulled his underwear up and then his slacks. "If we hadn't had that drinking competition, none of this would have happened! But as usual, you're more trouble than you're worth!"
Nami clasped her bra together at the front then swivelled it around so the cups were positioned under her breasts, then lifted the straps over her shoulders.
"You agreed to it to lower your debt which by the way...you don't even want to know how much it is now for sleeping with me-"
"It takes two to tango, woman," glaring at her from his position on the side of the bed. "So therefore I reject the debt for...doing that together," he snapped as he pulled on his boots.
His cheeks were red and hot and so had tried to look anywhere but at her body; however, failed miserably.
Nami ignored him and pulled over her fitted white dress that only covered down to her mid thighs and looked around for any other belongings of hers. Ah, shoes.
"Doesn't matter if I wanted it or not, the debt is what it is. Five million berries!" she announced, pumping her fist in the air with sparkles in her eyes then turned to the beside which was right next to Zoro.
With her chin in the air, she walked calmly over to the dresser, reaching out her hand to grab her shoe when a large hand grabbed her slender wrist.
"That's ridiculous, Nami, even for you! I won last night, therefore my original debt stands of one million. You can't seriously suggest that last night is equal to four million berries," spoke Zoro, letting go of Nami's wrist to put his blue tank top over his head.
Nami scoffed. "Even if you hadn't won, the cost for touching this pristine, perfect body is four million minimum, so think yourself lucky!"
And there she went, thinking she was all that.
Zoro stared at her in utter awe and not in a good way. Although, bits and pieces were coming back to him and he could definitely recall the feel of her soft, silky skin against his as he…
He suddenly shook his head to rid himself of his impure thoughts. This was why he trained a lot because these sorts of situations, no matter who they were with, were just a distraction from his goal to become the World's Greatest Swordsman. Lust was nothing, if not for the hum of his sword, want was nothing, if not for the feel of the hilt of his swords in his hand…
He could feel her smiling through each passionate kiss. They were hard, firm kisses as if they couldn't let go and they had clearly wanted this for a while.
One minute they'd been arguing furiously but then she'd lunged and somehow their lips connected. Nami had looked up at him in shock but then he could see her anger start to fall away and that was enough for him to lean down and capture her lips again, if only to shut the damn woman up.
"Every time you open your mouth about treasure, it annoys me, witch," he said slyly after they pulled away for a breath, their faces barely an inch from the other.
All she did was smile before his hand was at the back of her head, moving into her long auburn locks and pulling her head sharply back toward him.
Their lips collided roughly and then she'd opened her mouth to allow his tongue access and he didn't hesitate. Their tongues moved in sync, deepening their hot, passionate kiss and then suddenly, he hoisted her up so that her thighs wrapped around his hips with a hand on each bottom cheek. Her arms had snaked around his neck tightly and he could feel his body react immediately to the new position as his hardened groin pulsed right where her entrance now sat just below his waist. It was amazing how a small amount of material could separate them so torturously.
"So in other words, you wanted me," she gasped when they took another breath, her chocolate orbs looking at him with a playful smile as her hips grinded into his.
Zoro smirked, grunting from the sudden movement and he held back the urge to lift her tight little dress up right here, right now but he was trying to hold back so badly and all he could feel were her breasts against him and the way her bottom felt in his hands.
He fumbled with the key in the door.
"Kick it down!" she'd commanded, her lips coming back to his again in desperation.
"Mmmhmm, fuck it," he said as he kicked it open forcefully, causing Nami's laughter to echo through the room.
Bits of wood splinters fell to the ground as he slammed the door closed behind him with his foot, lowering her back down onto the bed. He leaned his forearms on the bed either side of her body as he captured her lips again; her legs spread, allowing him to position himself right at her entrance.
But he wouldn't allow it to start so soon, no, she was going to have to work for it.
See? Distracted.
"Look, don't think this changes anything," he said suddenly without thought, getting to his feet. He bent down and picked up Wado, Shusui and Kitetsu, fastening them to his hip and walked to the door.
Maybe he would regret his words later and he did (in the way it had come out) but he was so caught up about what this meant.
As far as women were concerned, he hadn't been interested in the slightest or at least, not in a romantic way.
He thought that maybe he'd had a connection with Tashigi, seeing how she looked just like Kuina and if given the chance if she hadn't died, he had always wondered whether things would be different. He had begun to wonder...would he have come to love her, one day?
He saw the way that the love cook got so easily distracted and couldn't even attack a woman, which in his opinion, was pathetic so it didn't exactly shine a benefit of having women involved in his life.
As time went on, he realised his goal was just too important to him for thoughts like that which was the whole reason he'd sworn off women to begin with, so as not to be distracted.
But then why? Why did he do this? It was the first thing he wondered since realising what had happened the night before.
Nami quickly fastened her other shoe before grabbing her disassembled Clima-Tact and followed behind.
Why would she care, anyway? She didn't. And she'd never thought of Zoro as this type of person since he seemed to respect women too much (never peeking at the spas and even fighting them out of respect for their skills and abilities) and had always thought he preferred women who were fighters, anyway.
She was the total opposite to him and yet, despite knowing all that she was totally attracted to him. And maybe she always had been, which is why she nagged him the most.
But, she was good at not showing her emotions and thoughts - it was how she'd survived back then in that fishman's crew. Her face hardened and neutralised in a determined way deciding then and there that this was nothing...Nami had a goal too - to map the entire world, so how could she do that if she were in turmoil over a man?
Zoro noticed her following quietly so tried to ignore it but when he wandered the wrong way, apparently, he felt slender fingers grabbing his forearm, dragging him the opposite way.
He yanked his arm away from her in annoyance because he couldn't allow anything else to fill his mind but his goal and he was sure she felt the same. Often a time she had prioritised gold, treasure or Berries over him and the crew so he didn't feel bad taking this approach, now.
Zoro saw the slight glimpse of something in her eyes that he didn't recognise but then it was gone as soon as it showed. The guilt was there but what was he going to say?
And so, silence enveloped them until they reached the ship.
"What's our story?" he finally asked bluntly. The trick would be getting their rouse past Robin; that woman had very good intuition.
Nami didn't even look at him when she responded. "Just don't mention we slept in the same room. The competition went well into the night - they won't know because they were passed out before our last round."
Zoro's eyebrow raised in realisation. "Oh? So you remember everything then?"
Nami, who currently faced away from him, stiffened.
"No, just bits a pieces," she lied before turning to face him with a neutral expression.
It was true that she had no recollection when she first woke up but since that time throughout the brisk walk back to the ship, she now remembered most of it. She wasn't one to easily forget when she was only half drunk after around fifty pints and that wasn't even a lot to her and she was sure it was the same for Zoro.
"Well then. It was nice but will never happen again."
Zoro watched her, trying to ignore the way her bum went from side to side as she walked, remembering how he'd grabbed it tightly and how it made him even more excited. He shook his head, trying to suppress the memories for his own sake.
However, what bothered him was her last expression she'd given him and he knew what that look was. Something she'd said was a lie.
"Welcome to the Island of Ruby."
Now, they hadn't even known this island existed but it was like it called to her. Her body could feel a pull and didn't even need to use her log pose to know that there was land by following what her body told her. In fact, it felt like her body almost vibrated all of a sudden after her realisation.
She often found herself wondering why her body reacted to weather so easily and how she just knew when a storm was ahead of them, even if it were minutes or even an hour away.
Nami never asked Bell-me`re about her origins because she figured her mother hadn't known. But it was times like these that she really did wonder.
As she stepped out of the helm area, she saw Robin as she held a sack in her hand.
Nami raised her eyebrow, curiously. "Aren't the boys getting food and supplies?"
Robin nodded. "Yes, Nami-sama but there are many books here that have a lot of potential information. This island has links to the gods, or so they say, and thus is one of the oldest islands around. Their library is also one of the most curated in all the land."
That had Nami's attention...then how did she-
"Oi!" snapped Zoro's voice from behind her.
She moved to allow him to pass but as he did, she accidentally left her foot out, allowing him to trip over ungracefully.
When he steadied his footing he turned around and glared down at her, his body towering over hers, but Nami looked out over at the sky.
"Nice weather today," she said with a sweet smile but when she met his gaze, he was not buying it.
"Witch," he snapped before heading for the ramp to exit the Going Merry, his swords clinking beside him on his hip.
"Brute," she countered back angrily as he lifted his arm to stick his rude finger up at her with a smirk before her eyes went back to Robin. "Sorry about that oaf's interruption. So, you're going to collect some books?"
Robin nodded, however, the exchange between the swordsman and their navigator tickled her fancy. She wondered if they had something going on due to their ongoing chemistry but kept this to herself for now.
"Chopper! We're heading off now!" exclaimed Nami, pulling down her thick white dress and adjusted her leg belt that held her Clima-Tact so that it faced outward as she walked.
The girls heard his young voice shout out in acknowledgement.
Chopper watched the girls walk down the ramp, chatting idly about the books Robin wanted to find. However, he was just waiting for them to leave so he could have the ship all to himself.
Sometimes he liked to roleplay himself as the Captain and liked to tell everyone what to do. He checked every room this time and also out on the deck, just in case someone was left behind while he began his monologue, happily.
"I might go into the shop over there, Robin, let's go for lunch though soon together, yeah?"
Robin turned to give Nami a nod and a genuine smile. "I will come over soon."
Nami wondered if Robin just automatically knew that she would be done before her but it didn't matter. She'd be right anyhow since she loved shopping for clothes and sometimes the time got away from her.
It had been six months since she and the swordsman-who-shall-not-be-named had a one night stand, in a sense, and although it took her a little bit to get over it, somehow she had managed.
She still thought of him now and then and it was darn hard not to when spotting him train without his shirt on all the time with the sweat dripping down his front but she had to give herself credit. She was a superstar to train herself to stop thinking about him as often. Plus, sometimes she managed to get herself into slight pickles where he'd had to save her life and the close proximity always reminded her of that other time when he'd saved her life by dropping the gold but thankfully, the anger from that incident seemed to outweigh her need to think about her feelings and so, she had survived by using that thought process.
Come to think of it, the crew hadn't really been in any epic battles lately, touch wood of course. It was a breath of fresh air for Nami; not having to worry about split second decisions as well as her dumb crew members deciding to pick fights with people above their skill and power level and yet, managing to beat them anyway.
She'd like to think that thought was because of self preservation but to be honest, she wasn't sure how she'd react this time if it were Zoro who was on the line and how that would cause a rift in their family if they found out why things had changed.
However, she'd try her damndest for it not to show. She was a good actor, she could do it, just like she did when she was in Arlong's crew. Nami always hid her true thoughts from them and yet Zoro was the one to see through her first.
Nami grabbed at some clothes and held it against her in the mirror. "Hmm, not bad."
There may have been one or two incidents since then that had been close calls but she'd managed to keep her mouth shut. And she had maybe been affectionate toward him once or twice when they were alone and funnily enough, he never protested, despite the way he'd acted as if he were repulsed by the thought of what they did. It was usually when the crew were sleeping or when they had gotten stuck with each other while exploring an island and involved her touching his face once, grabbing his back from behind after getting quite a scare from a wild animal and another time she got caught staring at him while he'd been training.
Neither party had discussed the events from six months ago, though.
"It looks lovely on you," said a voice from behind her.
Nami nodded and bowed her head in thanks. She looked at the slim fitting skirt and decided to get it, negotiated the price to fifty percent off and then walked out of the shop.
She wasn't feeling the shopping vibe after all. Once she stepped out into the street, however, she felt something strange in her chest.
The vibration from earlier had come back but in a different way. Usually this happened when they were on the ocean and so, wasn't sure why she could feel it now. It was when a storm was going to hit…
Her eyes widened as she looked up at the sky suddenly. She closed her eyes, feeling the air and yes, a cyclone was about to come toward them probably in around twenty minutes.
Nami raced across the street, her long auburn wavy locks fluttering behind her as she ran.
"Robin!" she screamed in a panic, causing the occupants to look at her in anger.
The librarian began to walk over to her until they found a slender hand on their shoulder. Robin looked down at the small, doddery old woman and gave an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry everyone but a cyclone is about to hit this town and it's going to be a big one. I suggest you all go to your loved ones and find shelter," said Nami loudly and finding Robin's gaze.
The older woman understood now and raced toward Nami at the entrance. Her old books were forgotten but as she met Nami at the front, something made her look at one she was still holding.
"It's an old tome. We should find the others," said Robin calmly.
Nami nodded.
When the girls went out into the street, it was getting a little windy. Robin found it strange that the town would be feeling the effects of an oncoming cyclone so soon when they were fairly inland from the docks. She looked down at Nami to find that the navigator's eyes were fixed ahead of them, further toward the fish market.
"I think Luffy and Sanji-kun are there, Robin. I believe Zoro went this way to find some stone or something to replace one he had to wash and sharpen his swords and Usopp went to the same shop for supplies for his stars."
Robin nodded. "Meet at the Merry, Nami-sama."
"Will do!"
The archaeologist wondered if Nami would be okay as a bad feeling began to set in.
"There she goes."
A young man watched from afar as an orange haired girl whizzed past looking through the window of each shop frantically.
He looked at his reflection through a window to see his pristine Captain's black overcoat, trimmed with gold, fluttering in the ever increasing wind. His piercing black eyes clashed with his dashing good looks and stood at six foot five with broad shoulders, a saber at his hip and a Captain's hat with a white feather in the top.
"Not bad," he smirked and looked to a younger man who was hiding around the corner, watching him. He saluted with an index and middle finger and the kid nodded.
He looked up at the sky. "Time to get it moving."
His hand moved as if he were turning a large knob and suddenly the wind in the town increased ten fold.
In the other hand he held a small grey jagged piece of stone and when he looked at it he smiled.
"Usopp!" exclaimed Nami.
She stopped to catch her breath for a moment by bending over and resting her hands on her knees as her breathing caused her to heave in and out.
"Nami...what's wrong?" he asked, almost not really wanting to know.
"We have to leave now! A cyclone is on its way," she said, not even pretending to hide it from other patrons or locals that may be shopping.
She'd finally found Usopp in some 'knick knack' shop that was a fair walk from the other shop she'd been in earlier. He held a mountain of various ingredients in his arms (currently unpurchased) but at the first sound of trouble, he threw them in the air comically and raced out of the shop, leaving a displeased shop owner to glare at Nami.
She awkwardly left with an apologetic smile and went into the next shop. Zoro wasn't there so she tried the shop opposite this time.
Nami's long slender legs were working over time as she ran in and out of the shops until finally she reached some sort of market, selling wares such as necklaces to weapons and even some street food.
Her eyes scanned the crowd but couldn't see the moss head anywhere and that was when the wind started to get worse. It was getting to the point where some people in the market were beginning to pack up. The jewellery and various wind charms that were for sale jingled violently and that was when she saw signs and other random things being blown across the ground.
They needed to leave now.
"Where is that idiot…" she exclaimed in a frustrated tone.
Nami vaguely wondered if he'd gotten lost as her eyes scanned the town and rested on a spot beyond the city centre. In the distance was a forest which would be hit first by the natural disaster.
She had said before that Zoro was looking for a stone to wash and sharpen his swords...she wondered if he'd gone into the forest to do that? The trees in the distance were swaying violently already and she knew that Zoro had no sense of direction so maybe he couldn't find the way out.
She shook her head wondering what the hell she was doing. Once upon a time she would have seen that forest and left him for dead to save her own life. She could do it; she should just head back.
Nami didn't notice the people around her frantically heading into their homes, shouting, screaming and running for their lives but instead she stood in the middle of the street, mulling over her self preservation and her friend's life. Her eyes focused on the forest as she made her decision.
He'd make it out...she didn't have to go in, so she turned to leave but then the howling of the hurricane came into view and she turned because she could feel it, this time.
Horrified, she turned to face it once more, her long locks of hair flew around her vigorously as she shook her head and screamed at no one in particular.
"I'm going to regret this!"
"God damn it!" he shouted angrily as he frantically tried to find the way out of the hell hole of a forest.
He was sure he came past this way but all the trees looked the same and maybe he couldn't tell because the wind was so fierce; even beginning to tear some of the trees from their trunks.
What the hell was going on?!
Nami was always telling him not to wander off, especially in a forest, but that damn witch always liked to tell him what to do so he didn't want to give her the satisfaction of knowing he was doing what he was told!
Hence his visit to the forest and it had been nice and peaceful though to clean and sharpen his swords, that is, until the violent wind had struck. Several times now he'd tried to leave but for some reason he seemed deeper into the forest now. He could hear the wind howling and the sway of the trees was getting worse then all of a sudden the trees in front of him began to tear. He could hear them creaking and snapping and then they were blown away; he could feel the wind grab his feet as he was violently lifted up into the air. Luckily he had a tree right next to him that hadn't gone yet and he grabbed a hold of a thick branch.
He looked down at his swords to make sure they were secure on his hip and luckily they were. They clanged together from the force of the wind but they weren't going anywhere thankfully.
Zoro winced as he felt the bark cut into his hands but when he looked behind him at the hurricane that threatened to tear him apart, a few cuts on his hands were nothing compared to the fate inside that beast of a thing.
He heard soft running footsteps in front of him and he managed to look up to see the ship's navigator running toward him, shouting something that he couldn't hear over the howling of the wind.
Debris from the forest flew all over the place and more and more trees were gobbled up into the hurricane so for some reason his heart quickened at seeing her in this kind of situation because he couldn't save her from a hurricane.
"Nami what the hell?!" he screamed over the loud shrieking of the wind, just barely holding on to the branch that was threatening to snap off at any moment.
She was just able to keep her footing but she grabbed a nearby branch for support anyway as she assessed Zoro's situation; a forearm being held over her brow to keep debris from blowing into her eyes and face. He was around twenty metres in front of her and the force of the hurricane had his body lifted in the air whilst holding tightly onto a branch, but he was struggling the closer it got.
If she went over to him, she'd be in the same situation and be much worse off than he since he was heavier and stronger than herself. But she did have to Clima-Tact.
All of a sudden, something hit her in the head and drew blood...was it a stone or-
She looked around the ground through all the chaos and spotted a jagged piece of rock which was clearly out of place due to the way it was jagged and carved, almost like a small totem. Nami leaned down and picked it up and then felt the vibrations again but this time they hurt like hell.
Nami's eyes began to cloud over and she began to scream and clutched at her chest, causing Zoro to look over at her with fear in his eyes and that fear was not for himself.
The blood curdling scream was something he'd never heard before, not even when she yelled out for her Captain when he was in danger or any of the other crew members for that matter.
"Nami?!" he yelled but she couldn't hear him. If he let go now, he'd fly into the hurricane and he didn't think even he would survive.
When he turned to attempt a look at the thing, his eyes widened at just how enormous it was. It was the span of half the forest now and was just getting bigger.
Nami staggered toward him, trying to reach him despite how she felt and then began to clutch her head as a sharp, consistent pain began to start throbbing. It started to get worse and worse until she couldn't hold in another scream and unleashed but by this point she had walked further toward Zoro's proximity and began to get dragged toward the hurricane.
The pain in her head subsided for a moment as her body seemed to feel the power emanating from the wind because it began to react to it. It started with goosebumps and then led all the way to her brain where it told her she needed it...needed to take in what was in front of her. She moved her hands away from her face when her eyes locked with Zoro's for a single second. It was as if time had stopped and she knew what was about to happen because she had Clima-Tact fully assembled and stabbed it into the ground as her legs flew up.
"Hang on!" yelled Zoro as he removed one arm from the branch to reach out to her but she shook her head.
"You'll die!" she screamed loudly over the noise.
Somehow she could feel the wind as if she were attuned to it. She thought of how she predicted the weather when she navigated them past many a nasty storm and how her body would always feel at the time. It was like a pulse throughout her body and somehow, she could always ascertain if it was a hurricane or just nasty weather, rain and wind or lightning and how far away it was. So using that knowledge, couldn't she do something?
Because as it stood right then and there, they were both going to be sucked into the hurricane and would most likely be ripped apart or debris would kill them at the very least.
Nami looked at Zoro again and tears were leaking down her face uncontrollably. Without realising, her most dominant thought was that she couldn't lose him which was so unlike her.
So far today, she'd not only been brave but thought of something other than gold and saving her own skin. But the thought of losing that brute of a man was something she couldn't bear and although it was a new feeling to her, it is what it was and she had to do something...anything to save them both.
Let go.
A voice in her head spoke to her.
Absorb the wind power into you and it will dissipate.
Nami wondered where that voice was coming from but a more pressing question was how she was going to achieve what it spoke of.
Let go. When your body pulses, it is telling you to absorb the power. Imagine you are consuming a meal and feel yourself being replenished.
Nami looked to Zoro again and even she could see the panic in his eyes.
"Nami!"
As she turned away from him as he screamed her name, she let go of her Clima-Tact. It was a split second decision and after doing it, she instantly regretted it.
A/N: Godai = 'five great' - in reference to the five elements Japanese philosophy - the idea for this story is a bit along these lines and sort of relates to "The Book of Five Rings" (Gorin-no-sho) in which Miyamoto Musashi explains different aspects of swordsmanship by assigning each aspect to an element. However, I've taken this to the literal/physical sense which is obviously not what they mean but I just thought it had such great potential for ZoNami since Zoro is a swordsman and Nami senses the weather (the elements). And who knows, maybe that's where their characters came from in One Piece haha (just kidding).