I am really sorry about how it took me over a year to update on this story. I just kept drawing blanks whenever I sat down to try to type something up.

Anyway I would like to explain a few things:

1. Once again, be wary of the characters odd behavior. Things are getting tense right now so the crew is ready to blow.
2. A couple of new things introduced that will make things that were odd in the beginning come full circle.
3. Some things are to be found out later in the story: they aren't ready to be revealed.

Keep these in mind while you're reading. Sorry for the vague-ness. Watch out bad things coming Nami's way.

Warning!: OoC, Blood, Sexual content

READ THE ABOVE FIRST

Ace pushed open the door and quietly slipped into the room. Closing it behind him he scanned the room to find his brother sitting on the couch again by the aquarium walls. With his head leaning on the glass, Luffy stared listlessly at the fish swimming gracefully through the water passing by his face. At the sound of the creaking hinges, Luffy turned his head as the two brothers locked eyes.

For a moment, the two stared at each other in complete silence; the eyes full of concern and those emptied of life connected by a brotherly bond. Luffy's eyes were still hard for Ace to get used to: so captivating and unreal reflecting as little emotion as there was to offer behind those azure eyes, beautiful as the sky, yet so cold and unfamiliar as the depths of the ocean. It wasn't a surprise, even to himself, that Ace had to avert his gaze to the floor to escape the sight.

Ace sighed and walked over to the couch sitting himself down next to the younger boy. He closed his eyes trying to mentally prepare himself for the awkward silence ahead of him but the moment he sat down he felt a weight fall onto his shoulder. A smile appeared on his face dissipating the unease in the room. Ace looked over to his side where his brother had made himself comfortable on his arm. He could tell that Luffy was still exhausted but leave it up to his little brother to move around and exert himself like the stubborn kid he had always been.

"Eh? Did that wear you out, Luffy?" teased Ace. He laughed lightly peering down to see Luffy's reaction. His smile faded as he saw Luffy's eyebrows furrow. The older brother shifted his eyes to the ceiling. " What happened out there… with Nami?"

" Nothing." Ace closed his eyes at the response. He didn't really expect Luffy to tell him anyway.

"Alright Luffy, just rest for now. I'll stay with you for the rest of the night." He lifted his arm around Luffy letting him find a more comfortable position on his chest.

" I never liked the way she treated me like an idiot. That navigator in my crew was the furthest away out of all of them that I used to call my nakama," whispered Luffy.

Ace's eyes widened at the words he heard. "Navigator? Don't you mean Nami?" he asked looking down at the other boy "And I've never heard that serious tone…what's wrong with you?" Luffy's eyes were already closed signaling the end of the conversation. Ace's looked over at the table and saw the unfinished fish dinner.

' Guess he wasn't hungry….'

X

"This is getting ridiculous now!" shouted Sanji slamming his fist onto the table, " just one problem after another when we haven't solved any of them!"

"Oi, oi, we got Luffy back didn't we?" interrupted Franky.

"Yeah, that's one problem solved don't you think?" said Chopper peering out cautiously from under the table at the fuming cook. Even so, it wasn't only Sanji that was being pushed to the edge by this mess.

It was already morning on the Thousand Sunny and after the rough night they had all gathered for another crew meeting. All of them were there except for Ace and their captain. Not a single sound had escaped the aquarium room where the two brothers had taken refuge. They were at a stand-still at this point, no other move but to sit and wait.

"Isn't there anything else that Ace said to you before he walked into the aquarium room?" asked Usopp. Nami only shook her head no for the third time.

"I already told you all he said was that nobody should come into this room until either he or Luffy comes out," she muttered obviously annoyed by the same question. She glared at Usopp balling her hands into fists, "So stop asking me that damn thing over and over!"

"Sorry, Nami. I wasn't trying to make you mad," apologized Usopp holding up his hands in defense, "It's just that, we need something to give us a clue or something, right?"

"You think I don't know that?"

Usopp twiddled his thumbs darting his eyes from Nami to the table. "Well…you did talk to him last so, umm…"

"So! That doesn't mean anything!" The sharpshooter trembled in his seat before falling backwards out of his chair and onto the floor. He had enough experience with her short temper. Nami's glare was enough to scare him back against the wall to create as much distance between them in case she blew up on him. Zoro slowly stood up and walked over to put himself between Usopp and Nami.

"Oi, oi. Now's not the time to start fighting," said Zoro.

Nami lounged back into her chair crossing her arms. "Oh, so now you're going to try to play the good guy here?"

"I'm not trying to play anyone. I'm just trying to keep everyone together," he responded calmly. At the moment, Zoro knew she was playing mind games with her, trying to get him angry.

"Together?" asked Nami, a smirk forming on her face, " No one is following you when you proved yourself incapable as captain. How do you expect to keep us together?"

"Nami…" said Chopper, quietly.

Nami raised her hands and shrugged lightly. " You should just stand aside and let me handle it."

"You shut your mouth," he growled staring coldly back at the orange-haired girl. The rest of the group gasped as they glanced back and forth between the two opposing forces in the room. Even Nami's eyes were wide open in shock to hear Zoro's menacing tone directed at her. " Don't act all high and mighty over any of us when it was you who pissed off Luffy last night in the first place! It was you who even started this whole thing!"

Nami quickly pushed herself up to stand and square off against the swordsman. As if she was going to let him put the blame all on her… he was also responsible for slowing them down. What the hell was he trying to do? "This isn't my fault! I was trying to help last night…I didn't mean to make him angry…I...I…."

"Whoa! Settle down you two!" yelled Franky waving his arms between them.

Zoro took a moment to calm down keeping himself into playing into her trap. "Even in that last battle with Luffy before that…Cai, even showed up," said the swordsman cooly, " I didn't say anything but I saw what you did." At those words, Nami's completely froze. Nobody ever said he couldn't turn the tables on her.

She mentally shook her head in disbelief that anyone knew other than her. How could he possibly know what happened? No…he couldn't have known. " I have no idea what you're talking about!" He wasn't talking only about last night. No, she knew exactly what he was trying to do.

"That's enough of hiding it," continued Zoro, " you know what I'm talking about. You've been trying to be the hero and get to Luffy the most out of all of us."

"You're wrong! We are all trying to work together to help Luffy equally!" shouted Nami.

"You've been trying so hard to fight me for command over the crew so you can get everyone on your side. I don't follow anyone's order other than the captain, and that's Luffy," said Zoro crossing his arms, "I'm not helping you when you keep hurting our captain."

"What are you two talking about?" asked Robin. She looked over at Franky who only shrugged.

" Shut-up, Zoro!" cried Nami, " Don't listen to him, everyone! Please! It isn't my fault!" She felt like an idiot right now compared to him. She was raising her voice like a damn child and he was keeping him cool un-phased by anything. Damn his meditation training.

"If it isn't your fault then why are you trying to hard to fix it?" Nami looked up at Zoro, her eyes silently pleading him to stop talking. " Maybe it's because you feel guilty and want to make up for what you put him though."

The rest of the crew was completely confused at the conversation before them. It wasn't like Zoro to be so trivial and harsh in whatever he said to his nakama and Nami had never looked so scared and desperate to make Zoro stop. "No…no…no" she stuttered "you're wrong it's not because of…" Zoro raise a brow as if urging her to explain.

Sanji was staring at Nami completely in aw at how vulnerable she looked at the moment. He was so captivated that he hadn't even attacked the swordsman for being so cruel to his still precious Nami-swan. He was suddenly knocked out of his daze when a single tear slid down the navigator's cheek. Sanji quickly lunged towards Zoro and grabbed ahold of his shirt. "You better stop this, dammit! I'm not going to sit around and watch you make her cry, you shit-head."

Zoro completely ignored the cook's threats and waited for Nami's response. " It's because of what then? What other excuse can you possibly ha…"

"It's not an excuse!" Nami shouted cutting of Zoro. "It's…it's because I love him!"

Chopper and Usopp gasped, Franky fell out of his chair, Robin let out a small sigh. Sanji loosened his grip on the other man's shirt as he turned to Nami. He looked so frustrated with the words he heard but so unwillingly defeated. " You're in love…with Luffy?" he whispered. The girl did not answer but turned on her heel and ran out of the room leaving them all in shock with her confession.

Sanji pulled out a cigarette and walked out of the room slamming the door behind him. Robin looked over at the swordsman as he pulled up a chair again to the table. "Zoro-san, don't you think that was a bit rough?"

"No, I don't." he quickly stated.

Usopp grimaced a little at his still-harsh tone as he got off the ground. " But Zoro, you just forced Nami to confess her, uh…um, feelings. I feel sorry for her." Mumbled Usopp.

"I've never seen her look so sad before. That was cruel, not cool at all," joined in Franky.

"Poor Nami," cried Chopper.

" Whatever her feelings, I don't care but she has more than one reason she wants to be by his side."

"I'm going to see if she's okay," said Chopper running out the door. Usopp followed silently along with Franky leaving only two in the room.

Robin got up to pour herself a cup of coffee. "That wasn't a very nice way to handle things," said Robin watching the liquid flow from the pot, "what exactly were you trying to accomplish?"

"This crap is getting on my nerves and I don't need that damn witch pushing me around," he responded. Robin sat down across from him looking over at him with genuine interest. "She's playing the victim but with what she did during the battle with that last enemy before Cai, I don't feel sorry for her at all."

The older woman looked down into her cup staring at her reflection on the surface. "Zoro-san, can't you see that this fight is tearing apart our crew even more?" She lightly tapped the side of the mug watching the tiny ripples shake through the coffee. " I fear that Portgas-san was right; that we are falling apart without the lively presence of our captain." Zoro stayed silent. "You never seemed to get so passionate during any of our crew meetings in the past. What makes this time around so different for you?"

He still kept his mouth shut refusing to look at Robin. She sighed and took a sip of her drink. Setting the cup down again she rested her chin in her palm. "Then tell me, what happened on that past island?"

-X-

"Are we going to move anytime soon?" moaned Doll sliding down the wall to the ground, "I'm so bored!"

She watched Cai walk from one side to another in the tiny lab. Opening cabinets, closing them, pulling out random things. Doll had to admit, she was still impressed that the blind girl could work with such ease. Nevertheless, Cai had been making something for the past hour and didn't even tell her what it was. It was so annoying how she never told anybody what her complete plans were. "C'mon Cai, at least tell me what you're doing if you won't give me something to do!"

"No," Cai shot back, " what I'm making is just for personal use and does not concern you in the least bit way." She turned her head to where she heard the other girl sit on the floor. " Why don't you go play with your boyfriend and let me finish my work in peace!"

Doll got up quickly hastily pushing her glasses up back into place. " Oh, okay then didn't know I was bothering you." She could tell that there was something bothering Cai and didn't want to stick around to find out what. Besides she wouldn't pass up a chance to mess around with Gaije without any disturbances from this girl. Everybody wins! Doll giggled in her mind while she slipped out of the room.

Cai waited and listened for the door to close and Doll's footsteps to fade away. She turned back towards the counter but she didn't continue her work. The room was silent. She moved her hand across the table and felt a glass against her skin. Before she could stop herself the glass fell off the edge and down to the floor, shattering into many pieces. Cai did not move at first, completely taken aback by the fact she could be so careless. She bent down and reached out to where she heard the glass shatter. Unfortunately, her fingers touched down on a sharp edge of one of the shards cutting into her porcelain skin. Her hand quickly flew back to her chest at the sharp pain as the smell of blood reached her nose.

The smell of blood...a silent room: how nostalgic. Cai felt a sudden loneliness rush into her the moment she thought about that boy, yet it wasn't out of missing his cries of pain but his presence in general. She had been feeling this way only recently…a couple days after his crew had come to rescue him a little under two weeks ago. She hated his kind so much after all that she had been through and she knew he was no different. He had no right to try to confuse her and change her plans.

She pushed everything on the counter to the ground. All the work she had done for the past hour ruined for some random concoction. It was only something to get her mind off of things. Cai growled and rested her head in her crossed arms on the counter. She didn' care. She had no other purpose in life other than to seek her revenge, no other reason to live.

X

Luffy lay on the cold floor completely helpless to Cai's whims. His hands were chained together and as were his feet. Large lacerations trailed across his body from the merciless whip that his capturer held in her hand. Cai threw the whip to the corner of the room and walked over to where she left a brown sack by the door when she had walked in. When she picked it up the sound of metal clanking together could be heard while she walked back over to Luffy's side.

Cai put her hand on the boy's cheek feeling his cold skin against hers. It was so delightful to feel this damn monster so close to death. He was probably wishing the pain could end and that he could die already. "I'm tired of having to tie your limbs together every time I want to unchain you from your cell," she said devilishly putting her hand into the sack, "this should do the trick perfectly!" Cai pulled out a large bolt that had been sharpened to a point at the end.

The abused boy could only look on tiredly as Cai placed the sharp end slightly above his elbow. When the girl transformed her had into a sledge-hammer Luffy shifted his gaze to the wall in front of him. "Don't be shy. Let me hear that wonderful voice of yours!" chimed Cai bringing down the hammer onto the head of the bolt. Blood splattered everywhere as Luffy cried out. She pulled another bolt out and hammered it down into his skin again feeling the blood sprinkle onto her face. Cai licked the drops that had fallen onto her lips enjoying the taste and melody of Luffy's screams.

She pushed Luffy's face to look up at her and smiled down at him. "Tell me how you feel now." She demanded.

Luffy breathed for a moment trying to the cope with the excruciating pain in his left arm. " It doesn't matter how I feel. There is no one that cares to save me now." Cai's smile grew bigger at his words proving her success to break this boy. She could feel it now; that she was going to win this game she had now. "I can understand how you have been feeling all these years."

Cai's smile dropped. She grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled him towards herself. "What are you talking about? What do you know about how I feel?"

Luffy coughed up blood due to the rough treatment done to his body. " Your family, you mentioned how they died. You must have felt so alone after they were taken away."

Cai froze to the sound of compassion in this boy's voice. No one ever took the time to talk to her about what she had lost….but that's because no one every understood. They could never understand what it feels like to have their whole life taken away from them and neither could he! She threw him back down onto the ground. "Don't act like you actually care about what I have been through!" She pulled out another bolt and forced it down into Luffy's right elbow. Cai didn't give Luffy anytime to breath, quickly hammering down another one. "Don't talk about things you don't understand!"

Luffy opened one eye to look up at her again. She was smiling maniacally clutching another bolt in her hand. Cai placed the bolt's tip on the side of his leg by his knee. "Cai," whispered Luffy stopping her mid-stride from hammering the spike. She turned her face to his voice, waiting. "…You look so sad." Luffy closed his eye and rested his head on the ground. A stream of blood fell from his lips again and dripped onto the floor.

Cai's shocked expression changed into rage as she punctured his leg. Luffy's scream had turned into whimpers. She drove the spikes into his legs listening to his sounds die down. By the time she had finished his other leg he had completely gone silent. Cai stood up over the boy's unconscious body. She brought up her hand to wipe her face but she stopped when she felt something she hadn't felt for years, tears.

The door opened and Gaije walked into the room. His boots hitting the ground were enough to clue Cai in to who it was. She bowed her head down to hide her face and turned to leave the room. "Clean him up, I don't want him dying on us."

Gaije nodded, too preoccupied staring at the bloody mess on the ground to notice Cai's quick departure. When she closed the door, Cai wiped the remnants of her tears away walking into the dark hallway alone.

X

"Ahh..nnn" Gaije ran his tongue down her neck and over her bare chest. Putting his lips around her nipple, he sucked gently feeling Doll's body arch underneath him. He let go letting his teeth graze lightly on the sensitive skin as he lifted his head. The two locked eyes staring deeply into each other. Doll reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down again. Their lips crashed together, tongues clashing, leaving their taste in the other's mouth.

Gaije continued to travel down her jaw to the middle her chest. He stopped suddenly, resting his forehead on her soft skin. His body slowly relaxed onto Doll's body as he let out a drawn out sigh. "Mmm, why did you stop?"

"What now?"

Doll let out her own sigh. "Is this really the time you chose to ask that?" Gaije didn't move giving her a silent yes. " Ugh, fine. Cai says that she believes that the group that the Luffy-kid went with will finish the job. Something about them pushing him over the edge by being selfish…something like that. I can't remember exactly what she said."

Gaije mulled over what she had just told him. It was a tactic of first hand experience that Cai was using: the crew, in their state, will prove Cai's words to the kid about how his nakama will fall away from him. "This is wrong."

Doll glanced down at him on top of her. "I thought we talked about this already. This isn't wrong we're just getting rid of the scum on the earth! I think we're actually the good-guys…for once." She laughed trying to push herself up. Gaije slid off of her to the side looking over at her. " Why are you siding with that no good brat anyway?"

" I don't know. He just doesn't seem like he deserves it." Said Gaije. Doll quickly pushed him flat on his back and sat on top of him straddling his hips.

"Since when did you care if anyone deserves pain," she asked running her fingernails down his chest, "What happened to the Gaije that enjoyed people's screams just as much as I do?" Her nails left bright red trail down his skin making him grunt quietly. "Like I said before, don't do anything stupid. Now let's not bring this up again."

Gaije closed his eyes and hesitantly nodded again. "Good!" exclaimed the girl on top of him. Gaije's eyes snapped open and roughly threw her off of him. He pinned her down by her wrists with one hand smiling sadistically at her surprised expression. He lowered his head licking the side of her cheek. With his free-hand he positioned himself at her entrance between her spread legs. A dark smile spread across Doll's face. Her body tensed, her back arched up, her voice cried out: music to his ears.

Sorry about that last scene if you did not expect that this type of romance would appear. Mature content though and it wasn't really that descriptive. Anyway, I know it was shorter than I usually make them.

Yeah, Nami is having issues and things aren't going well for her right now. Next time I update there will be a mini twist concerning Luffy, Nami, and Zoro. Thanks for reading! Reviews are always great. They really do make me need to update when I get them. Once again, I'm sorry for the long hiatus.