AN: Well, I'm finally on spring break and I've been working on this story idea for a couple of weeks now. This chapter isn't quite what I wanted, but I'm not sure how else to tweak it. The fun stuff doesn't start for a while, so I apologize lack of action/development for now / However, I would like to thank anyone and everyone who will give this story a chance and reviews/constructive criticism is always appreciated :)

Additional Notes: Just to be clear, this story will be a Luffy x Nami story, overall. There may be other pairings, but I'm certain that Luffy x Nami is the primary couple of this story. Sorry if that's not your cup of tea (well, not that sorry). However it's not going to be very lovey-dovey or fluffy and they're not going to get together right away either. Where would the fun be in that? :P The rating may also go up. The romance will develop slowly so right now it's mainly Nami-centric. Last, but not least, I'd like to address the reviews from my one-shot The First. First of all, thank you to everyone who was kind enough to review it and sorry to respond to their reviews here.

Seltap thank you for being the first to review :) and I'm glad you enjoyed it You're a great writer yourself! SwordsofFury I'm glad you enjoyed it :3 LuffyxRuby Thank you Kinky-Nami-Lass, sorry that was an intentional thing. You can make up your own scenario :) I felt like making it a little ambiguous. EudaimonArisornae, I'm glad you liked it. I'm really glad you thought I did LuNa justice :D And I had fun with the Zoro-Nami dialogue too--they're so fun together Saint Dezzie, aw thank you! As long a you enjoyed reading it, I'm happy. I agree, who wouldn't want to be his first kiss? As long as he doesn't have any food in his mouth at the time... wheathermangohanssj4, ah I hope I spelled that right--really? That's true, she isn't really someone to get jealous in the series... mikhail, Really? As long as you enjoyed it and it wasn't a gianormous waste of time--since I know it was pretty long.

Again, thank you to everyone who read The First and thank you in advance for those who will give this a chance as well! Above all, I hope you enjoy it :) Here we go!

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.

Downfall

Prologue: The Scent of...

"Land ahoy!"

It was hard not to hear the jubilant cry from the ball of energy that constantly bounced around the deck, his infectious joy spreading out towards the rest of the crew. That is, except for one.

"We heard you the first time, Luffy." She said shortly, the only one unaffected by his usual bout of enthusiasm. "We have eyes. We can see it ourselves."

"Land, land, land," Luffy began chanting in a mantra, his voice growing louder with every word as Usopp and Chopper joined in to the chant. Luffy was grinning from ear to ear and jumped onto the upper deck, one first pumped into the air as he shouted once more, "Land ah-"

"We heard you!" Nami shouted as she placed a well aimed punch at his head, sending him face first into the wall next to the door leading towards the women's quarters just as Robin opened the door. The older woman took in the spectacle with mild surprise, a cup of coffee steaming in one hand and a book held in the other.

"If you have so much energy, do something useful!" Nami snapped, stepping onto Luffy's head for good measure before turning to Chopper and Usopp. Both squeaked in horror to have gained Nami's attention and clung to each other for dear life as she burned them with her glare. "Clean the decks, scrape the barnacles off the sides of the ship, draw up fresh water--if you have the energy to jump around yelling nonsense, then you can put it to good use!"

"Am I making myself perfectly clear?" Nami snarled as she dug her heel against her captain's temple.

"Y-yes ma'am. I'm sorry!" Luffy stuttered through his swollen lips and bloody nose, most of his reply being muffled by the wooden deck. Nami lifted her foot, apparently satisfied with his answer before turning her gaze to Chopper and Usopp. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

"Yes, ma'am!" All three boys saluted before scrambling away to find something to occupy themselves and save from being subject to their navigator's wrath once more.

"Oi, oi, what are you doing to the ship?" Franky rebuked Nami as he climbed up the steps, inspecting the damage she caused from her earlier attack against Luffy. Nami slowly turned to face him, her eyes narrowed as Luffy, Usopp and Chopper appeared behind her making throat cutting gestures. Franky glanced up, his gaze focusing on the others, oblivious to the hole he was digging himself into. "Ah? What are you guys doing?"

Nami turned around sharply, causing the three to stiffen and scatter once more.

"Look at this mess! Do you know how long it's going to take me... to... fix..." Franky trailed off when he caught sight of Nami's expression.

"What did you say?"

Demon. "N-nothing." He mumbled before turning away, breaking out into a sweat as he felt her gaze continue to burn a hole into his back, biting down hard on a nail he had placed in his mouth as he set to fixing the damage to the wall.

A particularly loud snore from the ship's lower deck diverted Nami's attention. It seemed her anger had reached new heights as she spotted her next victim. Every step she took gained the attention of everyone in the vicinity, save for her target who snored on blissfully unaware of the rude awakening he was about to receive.

Zoro let out a shout and doubled over as he was awoken with a large bump forming atop his head. He raised his gaze high enough to identify the culprit, although he could have already guessed. "Nami, you bitch, what the fu-"

"You... Don't you get enough sleep during the night?" Nami hissed, her fist still tightened above Zoro's head. "Here you are, lazing about whilesome of us are working without rest to keep this ship afloat. Just looking at you irritates me."

"Ah?!" Zoro stood up abruptly, his eyes narrowed as he towered over Nami, but it held little affect as the navigator's anger continued to radiate off in almost tangible waves of silent fury. "Where the hell do you get off? Ordering me around like your subordinate--I'm not the same as that perverted cook-"

Zoro was interrupted as he sensed the attack and raised his arm to block the oncoming kick. He caught it in time and his arm strained against the force of the attack. "I should have known you were the source of Nami-san's aggravation."

"You want to say something too, target-brow?" Zoro snarled, his temper already shortened by Nami's earlier unjustified attack.

"I already did, didn't I, moss head?" Sanji countered as he continued to apply pressure with his leg. "Or is there too much shit in your ears to hear me properly?"

"Maybe I would be able to hear you if you weren't sucking on your cancer sticks all the damn time."

"Maybe you should take out that seaweed covering your ears, marimo."

"You want to fight, Cyclops?" Zoro bared his teeth as he placed his free hand on the hilt of one of his swords.

"Bring it, you shitty swordsman." Sanji snapped back, biting down on his cigarette as he lifted his leg from Zoro's arm and raised it high in the air.

"This isn't being productive!" Nami interrupted, slamming her fists against their faces and sending them crashing into the grassy deck, dirt kicking up in all directions. "You're fighting is just going to cause more damage to the ship!"

"Oi, oi." Franky and Usopp made slapping motions in the air. The one causing the most damage is you.

"Now make yourselves useful and get to work!" Nami ordered the two fallen warriors, both of which only twitched in their shallows graves in response.

"Nami's a demon." Usopp mumbled from the other side of the ship, still in mid-preparation of securing his harness to clean the sides of the ship.

"Demon!" Chopper agreed in horror as he stood next to Usopp.

Nami turned to them, causing them to freeze up with a scream building in their throats, whimpers already escaping their lips. The corner of her mouth curled up in a snarl as she fixed them all with a glare. "And one last thing."

"None of you are leaving this ship until I see some results. If you do escape," Nami narrowed her eyes, her voice dropping an octave and dripping with the promise of retribution. "I'll kill you."

Demon! Was the single resonating thought as Nami stomped across the deck to the other side of the ship, heading towards the library on the upper deck.

"Are you planning on working on your maps?" Robin questioned from her lawn chair, looking up from her book when Nami stopped at the bottom of the steps. "You've been working quite hard for the past few days."

"Yeah, I've been falling behind with everything's that's happening. I wanted to do as much as I could before something else happened." Nami scowled. "Because it seems our crew is a magnet for trouble."

"I think Luffy would refer to it as adventures rather than trouble." Robin chuckled, causing Nami's scowl to deepen further. "Perhaps you should rest instead."

"No, I'm fine." Nami said shortly as she began heading up the steps.

"Yohoho! You seem to be in an unpleasant mood today, Nami-chan!" The girl in question had to bite her lip to keep from shrieking in surprise. "Perhaps if you allow me to see your panties, we would be able to remedy your unpleasantries-"

"Who would let you see that?" Nami shouted as she sent the skeleton across the deck. "Every one of them-!"

"I think he has a point." Robin said from over her mug of coffee, fixing Nami with her penetrating gaze. The younger girl couldn't help but feel unnerved as she took another step up the stairs, as if to create as much distance as possible to escape Robin's gaze. "You've been quite short with everyone. I really think you should get some rest."

"I told you I'm fine!" Nami grounded out, her nerves fraying as she kept herself from shouting as she slapped the railing of the steps with an open palm. "Just watch them for now. Please, Robin."

Before Robin could say another word, Nami had already stepped onto the deck and disappeared into the library. The older woman's gaze followed Nami's stiff form, wincing as the door to the library was slammed shut. A sigh escaped her as she took a sip of her coffee, placing it back down on the table beside her as she gazed back at her book.

As she shared her quarters with the young navigator and being one of the most observant members of the crew, it was easy to tell that Nami had not been sleeping well. Her skin was pale and dark circles had formed beneath her eyes and often Robin found the room to be empty whenever she would return. She found it strange as she herself was absent from the room as she chose to read in her free time which usually lasted her well into the night, but for the past few days she found that Nami would never return to their quarters for the duration of the night. Robin had also found that Nami had been skipping meals, usually breakfast, finding her in the library instead when she went in search of a book. She was greeted by the sight of the younger woman hunched over her desk with a hand tangled in her orange locks and her quill tapping against the wood in frustration. It didn't take much effort to figure out the reasons behind Nami's unusually short temper, but it was a wonder of why Nami was working so diligently on her maps when she was clearly pushing her limit.

Robin decided not to dwell on the subject. It was apparent that Nami was reluctant to share her reasons and it would do no good to force it out of her. Robin believed that Nami would tell her when she was ready, if she ever desired to. With that thought in mind, Robin focused on the passage she had left off. It didn't take long for the others to forget about Nami's earlier rampage and soon an hour had passed before they were within minutes of docking. Excitement was once again building on the ship.

Nami chose that moment to appear, but they were all too caught up in their anticipation to bat an eye, that is until Nami announced she would be distributing their allowances. Nami first assigned everyone different duties, most of which were obvious. Sanji was in charge of food supplies, Chopper was in charge of medical supplies and so on before she gave them the appropriate amount to buy what they needed and extra their own personal shopping.

"No one goes alone." Nami said firmly, her eyes fixed on their captain as she placed his allowance into his eager hands. "No one."

"Yup!" Luffy agreed, but his grin faltered when Nami continued to hold his share. "What?"

"And don't cause any trouble." She said as she continued to gaze at him evenly.

"I won't." Luffy frowned. "Why are you only saying this to me?"

"No reason." Nami released the money with a wave of her hand. "Oh and Brook will stay here with me."

"What? Why?" Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper exclaimed in indignation. Brook, however, merely took a sip of his tea.

"Think about it!" Nami frowned. "He's a walking, talking skeleton--even on the grand line that's strange! We're already conspicuous enough as it is, but we don't want to cause a mass panic before we even get our supplies."

"But that's not fair! So Brook can't come on the island at all?"

"Yohoho, that's all right! As long as I can see Nami-chan's panties, I'll be content with staying on the ship-"

"I'm not saying he can't go on the island at all." Nami said, Brook's skull cracking against the railing of the ship from her punch. "Just for today, since we don't have anything to disguise him with. That's why today you will go find him something and he can go on the island later."

"Oh, so that's how it is!" They said together, including Brook as he bleed from the area where his nose would of been if he still had his flesh or if he had been alive for that matter (never mind the fact that he shouldn't have been bleeding at all, being a skeleton).

In a matter of minutes they had lowered anchor and were ready to go ashore.

"Hey! What did I just tell you?" Nami shouted as Luffy had sprung himself off the boat and was running at full speed, his laughter fading into the distance. Nami knew it was useless, placing her hands over her face as she groaned. "Why do I even bother?"

"Don't worry, Nami-san." Sanji placated her as he dropped the ladder over the side of the ship. "We'll keep an eye on him."

"Please." Nami sighed as one by one they climbed down the ladder.

"Nami-chan," Nami looked up at, just as Chopper disappeared over the edge, the last to leave the ship. "Why don't you go with them? I'll be fine on the ship by myself, that is, unless you really wanted to keep me company, yohoho!"

"No, it's fine. I still need to finish up some work." Nami sighed as she pushed herself from the side of the ship, taking a few unsteady steps as her body seemed to feel heavy and her vision spun for a moment. "Ah."

"Are you all right?" Brook asked in concern, the others already disappearing from view.

"Yeah, don't worry. Sorry, but could you watch the ship while I finish up? Just call me if you need anything." Nami mumbled, a hand to her forehead as she tried to rub the exhaustion from her eyes and slowly made her way back up the steps. Brook watched her silently for a moment before placing himself right below the railing outside of the library.

"Why don't you leave the door open?" He suggested just as Nami had opened it. "I can play you some music to help you concentrate."

"Ah, no. I think that would actually be too distracting." Nami said as she started to close the door.

"Yohohoho! Don't be silly! Music helps to stimulate the mind! And I'm sure that a cool breeze now and then would be refreshing rather than being enclosed in that stuffy room!"

"I guess." Nami hesitantly agreed. Then before she entered the library she turned to him and said, "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it, yohoho!" Brook laughed as he went in search of his violin.

Nami smiled after him before heading in and sitting at her desk. Notes and books were spread out over her desk and stacked near her chair as the quill lay across her most recent map, still only one third complete. She stretched her arms high above her head, moaning as she felt something crack and let her arms fall limp, leaning back in her chair for a moment as she thought back to Robin's earlier suggestions to retire to her room for the afternoon.

No, I can't, Nami thought as she straightened back up in her chair, raising her hands to slap herself on her cheeks lightly. I need to finish this.

In truth, however, Nami didn't have to do anything. It was true that it seemed that there were so many adventures and so much interference that her research kept being pushed back along with her dream, but that wasn't the real reason that kept her from sleeping at night.

"Give me your hand!" A voice angry and full of malice.

"No!" Another voice filled with absolute terror and desperation.

It was the nightmares. And her memories. She never could remember the details, but she would wake up in a cold sweat, the feeling of dread and terror still clutching at her wildly beating heart. She had forced herself from the warmth of her bed, throwing open the door to the quarter's she shared with Robin and shivered as the cool night air hit her clammy, sweat-covered skin. She would stumble to the railing and clutch at the structure only to back away as her stomach flipped at the action. She wasn't sure why she was so frightened when she couldn't even recall the images that had manifested in her unconscious mind. However, she did know that it had shook her to her very core and that was enough to keep her from returning to the safety and warmth of her room.

She had forgotten about it as the day continued and she saw the faces of her nakama, the images already fading, although in the back of her mind it still bothered her to be recalling such terrible memories. Never had she been plagued by recollections from her past ever since they had liberated her village and she had rejoined the Strawhat crew. She also believed she never would, but the night have proven her wrong.

Once again she found herself waking in a cold sweat and shaking when she bolted upright in her bed. She stumbled out onto the deck again, oblivious to the chill in the night air as she struggled to breath, clutching at her night shirt as she pressed her back to the wall, sliding down when her legs gave out from under her.

It was now the third night that she had forgone sleep. Perhaps, she thought if she worked herself to exhaustion she would be too tired to dream. It was a dangerous thing to chance on, especially with the kind of life she lead being a pirate (and not just any pirate), but it frustrated her to actually be in fear of closing her eyes when she couldn't even recall what it was that instilled such strong feelings of terror and unease.

Music drifted into the room, stirring Nami from her thoughts and she couldn't help but smile as the soft melody helped to sooth her frayed nerves. She raised her quill, reaching to the ink pot to finish her map. It really was such a pleasant melody, she thought as her eyes became hooded and the light seemed to become dimmer.

Nami's nose twitched in the slightest as the room filled with a sweet, fragrant scent. Her eyes fluttered and her hands clenched together, jerking suddenly and knocking the ink pot aside, spilling it's contents not only on Nami's hand which trickled down her wrist, but also over her map and splattered over her notes. She let out a string of curses as she moved away, trying to avoid staining her clothes as she reached for the ink bottle.

That Brook! He tricked me, didn't he? Nami momentarily thought as she salvaged what she could of her notes and logs, dropping them aside. She looked at her map, now nothing but a giant blob of black ink staining the wooden desk through the parchment. At least it seemed her plan to work herself to exhaustion so that she would be too tired to dream had worked. She had to have been asleep for at least a couple of hours and she had not awoken in a cold sweat or with the feeling of dread. That could have been seen as the cloud's silver lining, but--

The scent assaulted her senses once more, bringing Nami back to the present as she jerked around towards the open door, her eyes wide and full of alarm.

That's...

The scent was getting stronger and Nami felt herself being pulled to the source. The door was still wide open and she noticed the music had stopped, replaced by the sound of incessant chattering and incoherent shouting--the others must have already returned. However, Nami's mind was focused elsewhere as she stepped out on to the deck, the ink bottle still on its side and ink steadily dripping off the sides of the desk and onto the wooden floor.

The first person she encountered was Sanji, who had to side step to avoid her sudden turn. Raising the tray in his hand high above their heads, he regained his balance and fixing Nami with his usual burning, passionate stare he offered the specially made drink to her.

"Nami-san, what good timing! I've just completed your afternoon drink with the ingredients I bought today. It'll help enhance your radiant beauty and your focus with the right amount of citrus to entice your brilliant mind-"

Sanji was unable to complete his words of flattery, stunned when he felt Nami grab his tie and pull him towards her with a slight tug, the drink slipping precariously to one side of the tray. His jaw dropped as Nami tilted her head, her eyes closed in concentration and her lips parting unconsciously.

Could this be... ?!

"Oh, Nami-san! You're so bold!" Sanji exclaimed, his passion burning hotter than ever as the drink crashed to the ground and he spread out his arms, his lips exaggeratedly pursed as he lunged forward. Nami opened her eyes just in time to see the action and quickly side stepped him, watching him with a mixture of indignation and alarm.

Usopp was staring up at them, a fork in his mouth as he arched a brow at the two, although he could only see Sanji's lower half, his face implanted in the wall of the library. "What are you two doing?"

"That's what I want to know." Nami said in irritation as she narrowed her eyes at Sanji. The scent, however, brought her back to the present and she looked at the rest of the crew, stepping down onto the grassy deck.

It was pretty strong on Sanji, but I can still smell it even here.

"Why..." Nami began to ask, stepping towards Franky with a sniff, who arched a brow at her strange antics.

"What?" But Nami was already walking towards Usopp, who instantly stiffened as he recalled Nami's earlier rampage.

"Wh-what?" He stuttered, chills running down his spine as Nami leaned close, her eyes once again closed in concentration before she pulled back, frowning.

"Even you two..."

"Even you two... What?" Usopp frowned back, but Nami was already heading towards Zoro, who had his back to her. Zoro was taking one of the large crates from Luffy as he handed one over the side of the ship, but seeing as there were three more to bring up, he decided it would be better to do all three at once. Usopp's eyes widened as he watched in horror as the three remaining creates were tossed into the air and in Zoro's direction. The swordsman had a similar expression to Usopp's, stepping back enough that Nami had to stop, tilting her head up to see the three crates ascending high into the air and hovering for a moment before they began to descend towards Sunny's deck.

"Ah! What the hell are you doing? You better not let those hit the deck!" Franky shouted from the other of side of the ship, snapping Nami from her transfixed gaze of the crates above them, momentarily distracted from her previous thoughts.

"Nami! What are you--Ah, watch it-" Usopp began to warn her.

Nami glanced back at Usopp for a split second at his sudden change in tone, but turned back just in time to have one of Zoro's swords tilted up and nearly shoved up her nose. The swordsman had managed to catch the crates without damaging the deck (too badly) but it nearly forced him to plant his face into the deck from the sudden amount of weight, shifting all three swords up as he doubled over from the unexpected force.

"Good catch, Zoro!" Luffy laughed heartily as he swung himself onto the deck, landing neatly on the top crate. Zoro lay on the ground, pushing himself back to his feet as he fixed Luffy with a glare, his jaw clenched tightly.

"What the hell were you thinking?"

"It's better to bring it all at once, right?" Luffy grinned. "Don't worry, you caught them, didn't you?"

"I'm going to kill you, you bastard!"

In a considerable amount of pain, Nami stumbled back, holding her now bleeding nose, hissing in pain and garnering Zoro's attention.

"Ah..." Usopp mumbled, quickly stepping away and out of the vicinity of what he dubbed as the soon to be war zone. Or massacre sight.

"Nami? What are you doing?" He asked, oblivious to the fact that he was cause of her pain and crouched down next to Nami who continued to hold her hands over her face. She looked at him sharply, her hands dropping low enough to give him a good look at her bloodied nose. "What the hell?!"

"Eh? What's wrong--AhI Nami's bleeding!" Luffy shouted as he had hopped down from the crates, staring at the bloody mess on Nami's face in horror. "Nami's dying!"

"Ah! Doctor! Doctor!" Chopper cried out as he caught sight of the spectacle, alarmed by the blood dripping down Nami's chin and into her left hand, which was still covered in ink and now mixing together. He quickly regained his senses as he stepped closer to the bleeding girl. "Wait, that's me! Nami, are you okay?"

"What do you think?" Nami snapped, wincing at the action and the slightly nasally tone she adopted as Chopper studied her face. She fixed Luffy and Zoro with a look that could have melted ice in an instant, causing both to swallow hard and break out into a sweat.

"It's probably not broken, but--" But Nami was no longer listening as a sudden gust of wind blew passed her ears and even through the blood clogging her sense of smell, she could still make out that scent. And with the addition of blood and ink, she was close to feeling nauseous.

"Why?" She murmured quietly, her hands clenching into fists, squeezing blood onto the deck.

"Nami, you're really pale!" Chopper exclaimed. "We should go to the infirmary--Ah, Nami!"

Nami's ink and blood covered hand had shot out towards Luffy, holding his vest in a vice grip as she tugged him forward. Zoro had shifted out of the way as Luffy was brought to his knees, bracing his arms on either side of Nami's legs to keep from collapsing on the girl.

"Ah, Nami, I'm sorry!" Luffy cried out automatically as he found himself face to face with his navigator, shutting his eyes in preparation of the expected hit.

When nothing came and the grip on his vest had loosened, he chanced opening his eyes to find Nami staring at him intently. He blinked in surprise at her expression. He had expected anger and fury, but instead he found himself staring into Nami's pale face, her brows furrowed and her lips twisted in a grimace.

"Nami?" He questioned in perplexity.

Even Luffy... Nami shook her head, then quickly regretted the action as the pain was renewed. She gritted her teeth, pushing herself onto her feet. She stumbled when she felt a weight attached itself to one of her hands.

"Stop, Nami! Please! We need to get you cleaned up--" Chopper began, clutching at her hand regardless of the blood now smearing on his hooves. Nami shook him off and looked over at the other side of the deck, ignoring him even as the young reindeer continued to dance around her feet in increasing agitation. Her gaze focused on Robin and Brook as their conversation drifted to her ears. She started across the grassy deck, wiping beneath her nose and across her lip with the back of her hand, smearing the blood across her face.

"Such a lovely fragrance that tickles my senses that I'm sure my nose would fall off. But I don't have a nose because I'm a skeleton, yohoho!"

"You shitty bastards, what the hell did you do to Nami-san?" Sanji yelled out, jumping from the upper deck and crushing both Luffy and Zoro into the grassy deck with the force of a locomotive, creating a large crater as clogs of dirt flew in all directions.

"Hey! What the hell did I tell you idiots?" Franky shouted, sending Sanji into the crater after them with a well delivered attack of his own.

Despite all the noise and commotion going on, Nami heard none of it. Only Robin's next word seemed to reach her ears at that moment.

"It seems that it's a common flower here, Lilium. I believe that's what they called it."

Another particularly strong gust of wind blew across the deck and roared in Nami's ears, clearing the remains of dust and dirt as well as overpowering the scent of blood with the fragrance of Lilium. She couldn't hear Chopper's voice or feel his insistent tugging at her blouse as he urged her to the infirmary, nor did she feel the shaking of the ship from the continuous fighting, but she could feel the sudden wave of nausea a she doubled over. Falling to her knees, consciousness was quickly leaving her and only one thing continued to resound through her mind.

Lilium... lilium... lilies.

"Do you want to see the island of lilies, Nami?"

AN: The Scent of... Lilium? The Scent of... Adventure? Of Danger? Hm, which one is it? Or perhaps it's a mixture of all three and more?

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