Screaming Infidelities

Summary: At the age of eight, Nami is alone. She isn't allowed to have friends, and all she does besides schoolwork is get beer for her drunken father. But, after she meets a gang of four misfits, she finds herself with friends for the first time. But, when a girl from their past shows up years later, Nami finds herself caught in a love triangle, and doesn't know quite how to keep her friendship with the group anymore, and does something she didn't know she was capable of… [AU]

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A/N: I do not own any character in this story. I just love em' to death.
For those who have read any previous story of mine (and I'm actually hoping you haven't), then know that this will be much better written. (:

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Chapter One: Drunken Lessons

The whole apartment smelt of beer and cigarettes. The walls were yellowed and peeling, and bear cans and bottles littered the whole vicinity. The man responsible was large, with a beer gut cartoonists would be proud to draw. When his wife left him four years ago, taking their older daughter, the man became to be a drunk. His remaining daughter, a four year old, watched in confusion as her Papa became more and more violent, understanding little.

When he wanted her, the girl would come. If he slapped her hard across her pale face and shouted at her to clean up a mess he made, she'd do it silently. She didn't complain, she didn't speak, she hardly dreamt. Her whole life centered on making sure this disgusting excuse for a human being has a beer in the cooler next to him, and a pack of cigarettes on the table.

She could only wait for freedom with his death, which wasn't coming soon. The man, whenever he felt up to it, would grab her collar and hold her close. She could feel his hot breath on her neck and would resist the urge to cringe away. And, he would tell her that he was never going to die, that she was only ever going to be his slave, for as long as she was alive.

Being so young, she believed every word. By the time she was eight, she had given up on nearly every dream she had ever had. Princess, doctor, policeman, writer, actress, and even a chef had all been dreams over the span of eight years. The sole remaining dream for the future was a cartographer. She wanted to draw a map of the whole world, and nothing this drunken man said would change her mind.

On this particular evening, the man was in his usual position – beer in his left hand, nearly empty, cigarettes hanging out of the ashtray and his mouth, and the man himself was lounging in a dirty recliner, the TV casting shadows on the walls behind him. His dirty brown hair hung limply in his eyes, and his stubble desperately needing a razor to go through them.

"Oy girl, get in here!" He barked over the TV. His daughter, tiny from lack of food, slid into the living room, visibly shaking. Slowly, she walked forward, keeping her distance to not get hit or slapped, or even burned by the cigarette. "You look an awful lot like that whore mother of yers, you know that?"

The young girl kept her face as indifferent as possible, and nodded. She didn't dare say a word around her Father except for 'Yes, sir', or if he had asked her a question and wanted an answer. It just wasn't something she took the risk to do. "Get my beer, you worthless trash!" He shouted, throwing the still partially filled can at her. Flinching as the can exploded at her feet, the eight year rushed to grab a beer from the cooler, and instead ran right into his hand.

"I'm glad yer mother left ya' here. Eh, what's yer name anyways?" He asked, grabbing her shirt and pulling her closer. The girl flinched, and tried to pull away. Annoyed at her silence, the man shook her, and let his cigarette fall from his mouth. "Answer me!"

"M-my name is N-Nami, Papa," she finally said, pulling free from his grasp finally. Reaching down, she pulled a new can of beer from the cooler and handed it to him. He swiped the cool can away from her, and put his cigarette back in his mouth. Inhaling deeply, he turned to Nami, who was waiting for her OK to leave the room and go back to reading.

"Nami, eh? What was that only bitch's name? The one yer whore Mamma took with 'er?" He asked, blowing the smoke right into her face. Nami closed her eyes and held her breath until the smoke had left, leaving the smell lingering in her nose and mouth.

"Nojiko, Papa. Her name was Nojiko," Nami said softly, clasping her hands behind her back. She didn't like to stay in the living room with him too long – she was too afraid she'd get hit if she did. Her Papa laughed, and belched loudly at her.

"Get yer ass out of my living room, whatever yer name is!" He barked, pushing her away before she even had a chance to turn. Picking herself up off the ground, Nami nearly ran to her bedroom, tripping along the way. With her father's laughter in her ears, Nami shut the door behind her carefully, not letting it slam and giving Papa an excuse to call her back out there.
Taking a deep breath, the young girl sat down on her bed, and stared out the window. The only time she was ever allowed to leave the house was for school, and when Papa was sober, he'd go buy more beer and cigarettes. It didn't take a genius to figure out that they were poor, but Nami could never quite figure out how he kept on getting money for these things, and the electrical bill. She didn't understand how on Earth he never ran out of his essentials.

As she stared out her window, she saw a group of five kids her age run around in the streets. She liked watching these five – three of them had exotic hair colors, like her – and she sat and watched them whenever she could. From her bedroom window, which was on the third floor, she could see that the obvious leader was the smallest. He had a straw-hat, and he was always leading the group in whatever they played. The second in command was bigger, with a grumpy look on his face, and bright green hair. The other three – a blond whose left eye she had never seen, a blue-haired girl who seemed better dressed than the others, and a black-haired boy with a long nose – went along with everything the other two suggested.

Nami envied them. Sometimes, she'd open the window, and listen to them. The leader was named Luffy, the green haired one Zoro, the long-nosed kid Usopp, the blond Sanji, and the only girl was Vivi. She saw them all at school; Zoro, and Sanji were all in her classes. They were so close, and Nami was intimidated by them. The other kids called them misfits, but they never dared to try and attack them. She didn't know why, though; the only scary one was Zoro.

Once, Nami almost talked to them. She was on her way over to where they were playing when Papa caught her sneaking out. She had gotten hit very hard for that incident…the scar still lingered on her shoulder painfully. The kids, thankfully, hadn't recognized her from school. Thus, her confinement continued. Resisting the urge to cry at her solitude, Nami crawled into bed, and pulled the covers over her head, waiting impatiently for sleep to claim her.

In the morning, the young girl changed quickly. If Papa was still asleep – as he likely was – she'd go outside. She'd go and talk to those happy kids, and make friends. Once her baggy shirt was over her head, and jeans pulled onto her legs, Nami ran her comb through her hair, wanting to fling it across the room. Opening the door as quietly and slowly as she could, Nami poked her head out, brown eyes searching for the recliner. Papa was snoring loudly, a noise she had missed, and she slipped out of her bedroom door. Once she had tip-toed to the front door, she slid open the lock and paused – had he heard? After a second of being frozen to the spot, Nami opened the door just wide enough to slip out, and closed it behind her.

Resisting the urge to run down the hallway, Nami walked as casually as she did on school mornings to the entrance. The man behind the desk didn't pay any attention to her, and she stepped outside for the first time since Friday after school. Smiling, she took a deep breath, and looked around; she had beaten the kids outside.

Walking around her neighborhood, she saw with disgust that it was very much like her apartment; the streets were littered with cigarette butts, beer cans and bottles, and the occasionally piece of furniture that had fallen out the windows. Ignoring the filth, the young girl walked on, hoping to meet the five kids and befriend them.

As the morning progressed, Nami finally saw the leader – Luffy. He was walking quietly, his straw hat on his head as always. Lit up with hope, the young girl rushed across the street, grabbing his arm to stop him. The boy turned, and Nami felt her face flush – she certainly hadn't though any of this through. The young boy stared at her, his charcoal eyes blinking in confusion as he tried to figure out who she was.

"Hiya," he said cheerfully, smiling an ear-to-ear smile at the young girl. Nami blinked, and smiled back at him. "I'm Luffy, who're you?"

"I'm Nami," she said after a second, releasing his arm. From the look of his clothes, he was about as poor as she was – a dirty red shirt, and jeans that were far too long for his small legs. "I-I've seen you and your friends playing, from my bedroom window…"

If Luffy was surprised by this confession, he didn't show it. Instead, his whole face lit up, "I just spent the night at my friend Vivi's house! She left last night, to go live with her Papa." He said, looking quite sad at the idea of his friend leaving. "I tried to stop her, but Zoro told me that it was for the best."

"O-oh…" Nami said uncertainly, not sure why he was telling her this. She didn't have the charisma to make friends, she decided silently. Turning to leave, Luffy grabbed her arm the way she had done to him, and stopped her.

"Wanna be friends?" He asked, grinning again. Nami's face flushed again, and she blinked uncertainly. "You're in Zoro's class! I saw you walking in line with him once, right?"

"Ah, yeah, I'm in Zoro-Sans class," Nami said, biting down at her lip. "Do you…wanna be friends with me?" She asked, trying to snuff out the tiny hope that had been developing in her stomach since she had started to talk to him. Luffy laughed, and Nami smiled tentatively.

"Sure! Come on, you gotta meet Usopp and Sanji and Zoro!" He said, taking her hand in his, and running back towards an apartment building across the street from her own. Glancing nervously at the windows of her apartment, Nami allowed herself to be dragged into the building, following Luffy through room after room, until they reached a small apartment.

The other three she had watched from her windows were all huddled by a small TV, watching it lovingly. When the door opened only Usopp looked up, his curly black hair poofing from under his tan bandana, "Hey, Luffy, who's that?" he asked curiously; the other two looked up, recognition dawning on them as Nami waved awkwardly, then at Luffy in wait for his answer.

"This is Nami, and she's our new friend!" He introduced, releasing her hand and crossing his arms against his chest proudly. Nami blushed, and smiled at them all. Zoro grinned, and Sanji laughed.

"H-Hello," she said nervously, and smiled at them all. Usopp was watching her like she was about to attack them, and the other two were grinning at her. "Um…I think I know you two…from class, you know?" She said, trying to sound a bit more positive.

Zoro grinned and stood up. Slowly, he made his way over to her, and when he reached her, she had to look up to see him – he was towering over her. Nami flinched, and took a step back against the doorway. Luffy frowned, and puckered his lips, "Hey, guys, she's our friend!"

"We know," Zoro said, grinning wider. Nami watched him in a mix of fear and curiosity. "Dude, what did you do to her? She looks like she's seen a ghost!" Laughing, Zoro held out his hand for her to shake. Relieved, the red-head shook his head, and all tension left her body. Now a group of five, they huddled around her, asking questions, and supplying their own after her answers.

"How old are ya'?" Usopp asked, sitting cross-legged off to her left. Nami turned to answer him, and grinned.

"I just turned eight!" She said happily, beaming. The boys grinned, and laughed at her enthusiasm.

"Awesome! Sanji and Zoro just turned nine, I'm turning nine in a few months, and Luffy just turned eight," Usopp said cheerfully, and the others nodded. Nami liked the harmony of the group. She liked how they seemed so together, as if they were one. The way they talked to her made her feel as if she was being sucked into it, willingly, and soon she'd also be part of the one.

"How come you've never talked to us before, Nami-Chan?" Sanji asked, rolling a toothpick around in his mouth. It reminded Nami a lot like the cigarettes Papa smoked, but she ignored it. She didn't want to say the wrong thing…

"Because my Papa doesn't like me leaving the house. But, I snuck out today because I wanted to meet you guys," she admitted, shrugging. The boys smiled kindly at this, except for Luffy, who hadn't stopped grinning since the questions began.

"My Sensei doesn't care where I go, as long as I show up for practice every day," Zoro said proudly, sitting a bit straighter. Luffy poked his chest, and the group of children laughed as he flinched back down to his slouching position.

"My Dad's restaurant opens at noon, so that's when I gotta be home. I don't really work, though, so I get to play all the time!" Sanji said, rolling his toothpick around his mouth again. His eyes brightened considerably when he mentioned his Dad's restaurant, Nami noticed.

"My Momma died of sickness last year, and my Poppa is a traveling man, so I live with Luffy!" Usopp said timidly. Luffy nodded, and draped an arm over his friends' shoulder.

"I live with my Grandpa, because I never got a chance to meet my Mom and Dad," he said cheerfully, laughing. "How come your Papa doesn't like you leaving the apartment?" He asked, blinking innocently.

"Because he likes to keep me close by, so I can get his beer and stuff," Nami said, realizing for the first time how incredibly resentful she was of her life. She hated living with Papa, she realized. She never wanted to go home, but instead sit here with her new friends. "I hate him."

The group, noticing the sudden wave of ice that followed her words, sat in silence for a few seconds before Luffy stood up. All eyes turned to him, and Nami noticed that he looked determined all of a sudden. "Let's play something!" He asked, crossing his arms against his chest. The rest of them stood up enthusiastically, and Nami looked around.

"Can we play Pirates again, Luffy?" Usopp asked hopefully. Zoro and Sanji nodded happily, and began to scurry around the room to look for props. Nami turned to Luffy, and bit her lip.

"I dunno how to play Pirates, though," she admitted hesitatntly. Luffy grinned, and walked around her. Nami turned with him, staying in place as she watched him grab a long metal bar from the floor behind her. Handing it to her, Luffy adjusted his straw hat as if preparing for battle.

"OK, I'm the captain, and Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp are the enemy! You're my first mate, and that's your weapon! Zoro uses his wooden swords, Usopp uses a slingshot he made, and me and Sanji don't use anything! Right now, we have to hide because they're gonna come get us, and we need to defend ourselves! Got it?" He explained, taking her hand and rushing her away from the other three. Nami looked behind her, and watched as Sanji waved happily at them.

"I got it!" She cried, grinning as the two went off to hide.

For the next six months, Nami went to school, sat with Sanji and Zoro in class, ate lunch with all of them during lunch, and played tag with them at recess. Though they didn't understand completely why she couldn't leave after school, the four instead developed a system of talking to her by using Usopp's skills as a shooter to toss rocks with notes on them up to her window. Immediately, Nami would write back, and throw the note down.

Though a weird friendship, the five had never found themselves happier – even without their other friend, Vivi. Carefree as they were, they forgot about the blue haired girl as the months progressed, focusing only on the next adventure they would embark on. Clueless, Nami's Papa never noticed she was gone due to the timeframe she had planned out – he slept until four or five PM on weekends, and then remained in his chair and drank until he passed out, and since Nami was on her own for school, she didn't have to deal with him.

Nami could not remember a time when her mother and sister lived with her. She knew her sisters name – Nojiko – but the most she could remember of her mother was her looks – tall, slender, with bright orange hair and chocolate brown eyes. Just like Papa said, the youngest daughter looked an awful lot like her mother in that way that Nojiko could never manage. There was one picture of the three girls; Nojiko with her bright blue hair, clutching her Mama's arm and looking up at her, and a four year old Nami cradled in her Mama's arms, all three of them laughing at the camera.

"Girl, where do you think yer going?!" Papa shouted as Nami reached for the front door handle. Turning in fear, she gazed up at her Papa, slightly surprised that he had left his chair. Before, she hadn't noticed how incredibly tall he was – and round. He lived off pizza and hamburgers, along with his beer, and Nami only managed to grab the scraps.

"School, Papa, it's a Thursday," Nami said softly, adjusting her bag slightly. Her heart was racing in her chest – all she wanted to do was get out of his sight as soon as possible, but he didn't seem to want that.

"School? Yer going to school?! Like hell you are!" He screamed, grabbing her hair and pulling her backwards, dragging her into the living room. Crying out in her pain, Nami's bag fell pathetically to the floor, and she gripped his hands to keep her hair from being ripped from her head. "You ain't leaving this apartment until it's spotless, you hear me?!"

"But Papa, I have to go to school!" Nami cried, shutting her eyes in the pain. Tears stung in the corners of her eyes, but she didn't dare let them fall. She never let them fall, no matter what happened.

"Don't you talk back to me, you little whore!" Papa screamed back, throwing her roughly against the floor. Face landing in broken glass from the rare bottle of beer rather than can, Nami pushed herself up, one hand massaging her head, and the other pressed against the cut. "If you so much as put one of yer filthy feet out of this apartment while I'm gone, I'll beat yer ass so hard, yer whore of a Mamma will feel it!"

With that, he kicked her elbow, causing her to fall down and hit the beer glass once more. Grabbing a cigarette pack from the table, Papa stormed away, slamming the apartment door behind him. Tears stinging her eyes again, Nami sat up, still massaging her head. She had never had to stay home from school before…but, it was her fault. Luffy and she had stayed up rather late, passing notes back and forth through her window, and she had woken up late. If she had left five minutes early, she'd have been happily outside with her friends…

Standing up shakily, Nami walked into their dingy kitchen and gagged – what on Earth had Papa done to this place?! Holding her nose with her hand, she left the tiny room and ran to the bathroom. In the dirty mirror on the wall, she saw that the cut from the shattered glass was small – it would heal quickly enough. Grabbing an old bandage, Nami stuck the protector to her cheek, and left the room again.

The worst place in the whole apartment was the kitchen, judging by the smell, and this was where Nami had decided to begin her newfound cleaning duties. Just as she began to scrub the countertop clean of ash, cigarette butts, and cans into a garbage bag she found under the sink, the young girl heard the unmistakable noise of rock hitting a bed. Placing the bag on the floor so it would not spill, her walked to her room and picked up her new message –

'Where ar you?! – Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, and Usopp'

Nami sighed, and flipped over the note and grabbed a pen from the broken nightstand to write her reply.

'Go to school without me. Papa wants me to clean – Nami'

It was a rather sad note, Nami decided. Dropping it out the window, she closed the dusty screen and continued on with cleaning the kitchen. Within two hours, the counter was clean, the sink empty, all paper plates in the trash bags, no beers to be seen, and not even a hint of ash. Nami felt rather proud of her handiwork – she didn't think this room had been this clean since Mamma left with Nojiko.

Next, she decided, would be the living room – can after can after can after can laid around the yellowed room, and Nami scowled. It had never occurred to just how many cans of beer you could drink in one sitting. Sighing, she grabbed another bag – how long had these even been there anyways? – and picked up each can. Holding each smelly metal shape as if a piece of bloody cloth, Nami daintily dropped the cans into a trash bag, finishing after two and half bags worth of cans.

Tying up the bags, Nami placed the two full ones next to the other four she had resulted from the kitchen. For the rest of the school day, the young red head worked, and within four hours after finishing the kitchen, the place was so clean, she was sure Papa would like it. Exhausted, but proud, Nami walked back to her – newly cleaned – bedroom, and opened the window. Looking down, she saw her friends below her window, sitting down waiting for her.

Luffy was the first to see her, as he had been intently staring at the window. Jumping up, he pulled Usopp up with him, and pointed to the window. Slowly, Sanji and Zoro rose with them, and Usopp waved her down; the signal for a note. Immediately, Nami ducked down, and watched as four rocks soared over her head, each careful not to hit her.

'Ar you down yet? – Luffy'

'hury up and come downstares, becuz luffy's aknoying! – Zoro'

'come downstares and play pirates with us nami! – Sanji'

'Come bac downstares so we can play together agan – Usopp'

Nami sighed at their horrid spelling, but smiled. They missed her, she realized happily. With tired hands, she grabbed a fresh sheet of paper and untied each note and tossed all the rocks but one back down to them. Sucking on the tip of her pen, she tried to think of a good excuse to not come downstairs and play, no matter how badly she wanted to.

'I can't, because my Papa will be back soon. You guys go ahead and play and I'll see you all tomorrow! – Nami'

Tying to the remaining rock, she dropped it down, and poked her head through the window. Watching from her window, she saw Luffy eagerly rip the note off the rock, read it slowly, and frown up at her. Sanji read it next, then Zoro, and finally Usopp. Each one of her friends frowned at her, and grabbed for the pen. Holding it high over his head, Luffy held the other three back, obviously demanding first dibs on writing first.

Grinning, Nami ducked down beneath the window, and tried not to laugh openly. Sure, her cheek was throbbing, and her head aches from all the chemicals she had used that day, but she was happy. Happier than she had been even with Mamma! The rock flew over her head, and landed on her bed lightly. Grabbing it just as eagerly as Luffy did, she couldn't help but laugh at the even worse spelling.

'NO! come downstares now! we wana play pirates nami! – Luffy
come on, nami! we mis playng with you! – Zoro
dont you wana play with us no more nami? – Sanji
How come your papa maid you cleen? Come downstares anyways! – Usopp'

Rolling her eyes, the young red head was about to write back when she heard the door slam open. Smile wiped off her face immediately; Nami grabbed the note and crossed out their message, scribbling her own down quickly.

'Papa's back, so I'll see you tomorrow! – Nami'

Dropping it down, she closed the window and raced off her bed to go see her Papa's reaction to the newly cleaned apartment. Careful to keep her face indifferent, she opened the bedroom, and tentatively left the sanctuary of her bedroom. Her Papa was dressed in the same clothes he had left in, but there was a drunken way he walked that told Nami he hadn't wanted to come home.

"What the fuck happened to my house?" He demanded, looking around with narrowed eyes. Nami flinched, and closed her bedroom door. At the new noise, Papa turned to her, his blood shot eyes looking like something right out of that Halloween movie Nami, Zoro, and Sanji had watched for their party last month.

"I cleaned it, Papa, just like you asked!" Nami said proudly, forgetting how her answers only seemed to aggravate him, how if she dared as said one word out of place, she was slapped across the mouth hard enough to cut her mouth on a tooth. All this has been wiped from her memory – for once, in the whole time since Mamma left, the place didn't look like crap. It looked like an actual house in which two people lived comfortably.

"Cleaned…? Get over here you fucking bitch!" Papa screamed, reaching Nami before she even had a chance to move away. Grabbing her neck, he pushed her against the wall and held her there painfully. Air cut off, Nami grabbed at his hands, desperately trying to free herself. "You're just like her! You're just fucking lucky that you're good at getting my beer! Other than that, you're a worthless piece of trash, do you hear me?! You'll never amount to nothing but a beer-getter!" He screamed in her face, and Nami couldn't smell any alcohol. Her Papa wasn't drunk. He was just angry.

"P-Papa…! Pa…pa, let me g-go!" Nami gasped out, her face slowly turning blue. Her Papa dropped her, and she landed pathetically on the ground at his feet, coughing. The sober man glared down at her, and glanced in to her bedroom. Seeing the note from earlier, his eyes opened as wide as they could possibly go. "P-papa?" Nami choked out, looking at her Father fearfully.

"You got someone at school you buddying up with, eh?! You got someone that makes you feel special?! Lemme tell you one thing, you bitch; if there's one thing this family has, it's the fucking ability to repel love! You ain't mean nothing to whoever the fuck sent this, you hear me?! You ain't never gonna be nothing to no one!" He screamed, kicking his daughter harshly. Nami cried out in pain again, laying there in a heap as her father left the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

Painfully, Nami pulled herself up into a standing position, clutching her thigh where his foot had connected with her flesh. Tears streaming down her face in both pain and confusion, she limped painfully to her room. Seeing the notes on the bed, she felt more tears fall – Papa was right. He had loved Mamma and Nojiko, but they left. And he didn't love her, that was obvious, and here she was. Opening the window to let air in, she looked down at her 'friends'. Tears fell from her eyes, and she wiped them away hastily.

Luffy looked up, his eyes confused. Before Nami could shrink into her room, she knew that he had seen her. And even three stories up, it was obviously that there was a blue bruise around her neck, and tears falling from her eyes. Closing the window, she curled up into a ball and waited for sleep to claim her.

A few minutes later, Nami heard thundering footsteps in the hallway. Wimpering in fear, she shut her eyes tightly and tried to ignore whoever it was. They stopped, and Nami let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly, before she could even get up to see who was there, she heard the front door open loudly. Nami jumped up, and threw herself against her bedroom door, anything to stop whoever it was from reaching her.

"She did a good job, huh?" A familiar voice said. The footsteps were entering the living room, and she shut her eyes even tighter, wishing beyond anything else that she was dreaming, and it was just her Papa, coming back to drink again.

"I don't care. Where's her room?" Another familiar voice said, more seriously than Nami had ever heard it. She felt the knob turn under her arm, and immediately fell backwards onto the floor; covering her head from any attacks that might come. "Nami?"

Eyes still shut tightly, Nami shook her head, tears falling from her eyes despite this. She didn't want him here. Either of them, because if Papa came back, and saw her with someone else…
"Nami, I won't hurt you," he promised, kneeling down next to her. Nami squealed in disbelief, and slid away, hitting the bed frame painfully. Eyes opened for the first time since she had thrown herself against the door, she stared in the face of her best friend, and wished that he was gone. "I won't hurt you, I promise."

"G-go away…! If P-papa comes back, and y-you're here…just g-go! Go away Luffy!" She cried out, trying to kick him away. Luffy didn't move, but watched her impassively. "G-go!" She cried again, her chest shaking with sobs she was trying to keep inside. Luffy moved towards her, and they both remained completely silent. Slowly, she smoothed her legs down, keeping them straight. Lowering her arms, she wrapped his own around her, pressing her face against his shoulder.

"I won't let anyone else hurt you, Nami. I promise."

It was the words she had been wishing to hear since Mamma left. Letting out a sob, she raised her own hurting arms, and held him close. Tears falling quicker from her face than she had ever allowed, the two sat there, friend in friend's arm. If a stranger saw them, he'd have thought he was her brother with the way he held her. The only thing that matter to her, however, was Luffy.

Though she hadn't heard him, Zoro had also entered her room, and wrapped his stronger arms around her. Together, the two boys – and the strongest of the group – held the small girl, allowing her to cry freely on their shoulders for however long they needed.

Sanji and Usopp had been sent home by these two, but it didn't matter. Nami had never wanted this, but it was enough. She didn't need all of them there to know that they cared – she just needed one of them by her side as she cried.

It was all she had ever needed, Nami realized as she sobbed. Sanji and Usopp just made the deal all the more better.

A/N: And…that's it! Tada! X] I really hope you guys like this chapter…it took me a while to write! Next chapter will be up as soon as possible, I promise!