Chapter VI

"Thanks, Captain, you can let us off here."

Luffy looked at the inhospitable dunes that extended past the shore. Apart from sand, only the odd, twisted cactus could be seen, every now and then.

"Are you sure about this, Zoro?" he asked.

Zoro nodded and Nami tried to hide the dismay that flashed on her face. And failed judging from the smirk Luffy gave her.

"Hmm... this might not be such a bad idea..." Sanji mumbled with a critical expression and, from the corner of her eye, she saw Usopp start sweating bullets, "But... no, I don't think Usopp can do it. Yet."

"I don't think I can do it!" Nami blurted in a slightly squeaky voice.

"Of course you can." Zoro scowled. "And if you can't, we'll just have to repeat it until you do."

Luffy nodded as if it all made sense and Nami was assaulted by the urge to hit him.

"Come on!"

With trembling movements, Nami followed Sanji and Zoro to the small dingy and waited, while Luffy and Usopp worked the ropes and started lowering the small boat to the water bellow. From there to the shore were just a few minutes of Sanji rowing and, suddenly, they were alone in the sand and Sanji was going back and their ship was turning with the wind and leaving her behind and... her heart constricted as if she'd been marooned to die on a deserted island.

d

It had all started when she'd informed Luffy that, from Buggy's map, it seemed they would be arriving at a port on the next island.

"The place is called Whiskey Peak." she'd informed him, "And the town is called... Welcome Town?... Ridiculous name... It's some sort of hotspot, kind of an advertising for the countries of the World Government in the Grand Line."

They'd all been looking forward to rest for a few days in a proper port, rather than on the shores of some deserted small island, as was usually the case. A proper immersion bath, a soft feathery bed, it all sounded like heaven to Nami... Except Zoro had gotten in his head that it was an excellent idea for Luffy to leave her with him a few kilometers from the actual town so that they could "work on her speed and endurance under adverse conditions".

For the first time since she remembered, Nami had cursed fluently into her pillow, that night, promising future pains for the sadistic bastard of a swordsman. And, to a lesser extend, to Luffy for agreeing with it. But she was not going to back down. Oh, no, if they thought she'd balk at the challenge they were out of their minds. She'd show them. She'd show them all.

d

Bravado, Nami had found, came much more naturally when you're talking to your pillow than when you're stranded in the middle of a desert with giant cacti and crazy swordsmen for partners. The smoldering heat had her sweating like a pig within minutes of arriving and had hopelessly soaked her shirt's collar in seconds, making clothes stick to her body uncomfortably and restricting her movements.

Zoro, of course, was behaving like he was on a resort of some kind, the only protection he'd deigned to acknowledge the desert with being the bandanna now wrapped around his head. With a crisp movement, as if making a sudden, decision, he said, "Alright. Let's get moving. We only have one liter of water and the objective is miles away. It won't do to dillydally."

Nami sent him a withering glare, to rival the desert's heat, and spat, "I hate you."

The Pirate Hunter turned a ferocious grin on her and said, "Good. Grasp that feeling. Channel that hate. It makes you powerful, gives you focus. Now let's go."

Luffy couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. There was this undercurrent of danger that just couldn't let him do more than taking small sips of water and nibble on the plate he had balanced on his knee, even as Sanji and Usopp immersed themselves in the party going on on the small, and only, inn they'd found in the town.

Who the hell gives a party just because a ship parks by the beach? There was his hometown, sure, but the people there had known Shanks for ages and that particular pirate crew had been pretty much like family for as long as Luffy could remember, even if it was the hometown of one of the most notorious marine officers of all time, his grandfather Garp. But if someone other than the Red-haired Pirates made port they'd be given the same indifferent treatment as everywhere else, and gods forbid some other pirates try to claim the place for themselves. But throwing a party for complete strangers? Wasting good meat on people no one knew? Bullshit!

The fact that his mind was constantly turning back to Zoro and Nami wasn't helping either. He couldn't quite explain it but it hadn't felt right to leave them like that, in the middle of the desert. What if they ran into trouble on the way to the town? What if Zoro got hurt and couldn't help Nami? What if it was the other way around? He wasn't worried about Usopp and Sanji, because they where here, within his reach – who knows what would happen if they were left alone as well. A part of him rebelled against these sentiments. He'd become a pirate to be free and yet here he was, being dragged down, chained by these feelings. But the stronger – strongest - part didn't allow him to listen to that narcissistic voice – because his crew was family, and you didn't abandon family. Family was sacred.

So he continued sipping and nibbling, contrary to what was customary, never allowing himself to become immersed in all the eating and drinking, keeping an eye on the members of his family that were here with him, while waiting for the return of the remainder of his people.

"Hey, little master, is there something not to your liking?"

It was one of the owners of the inn. She was leaning towards fat and the white on her hair showed that she wasn't as young as her clothes attempted her to seem. In her arms, she carried a bottle, the tip of which she waved in his direction.

"Try this one, its the specialty of the house!"

They'd been insisting for him to try that particular spirit for a while now, and he had to admit he was getting curious at their constant prodding. So he extended his cup and accepted the fill the woman graced him with. Ignoring her speech on the qualities of the drink he approached the cup to his nose and smelled. Hmm... red wine with honey and a few spices added in – not too different from the mead from back home – and a touch of a bittersweet scent that spoke of... Oh. Ooh! Luffy smiled inwardly. So this is what they where going for, huh? The poor bastards. They'd chosen well. He'd assumed the plant had only grown back in West Blue, but it seems he'd been wrong. Either that or they'd been imported. Whatever the case it was obvious these idiots had no idea how to use the stuff. Oh well... he'd have to educate them.

For the next two hours he kept chugging drink after drink, watching in sadistic amusement as the faces of the people around him changed and got more and more confused and fretful. Usopp was down for the count since earlier in the evening and Sanji had followed not long after, both having almost literally drowned themselves in wine and other spirits. Luffy had no doubt Sanji would be up with the sun, the following day. The cook had a remarkable capacity to recover from alcohol poisoning, but Usopp was a different story altogether. He'd probably need to be watched over in order to keep safe.

"I really like this drink." Luffy remarked casually to the next person to serve him.

There was a flash of nervousness and a wobbly smile, "Oh, thank you sir. Perhaps you'd care for another fill?"

Luffy nodded, "Sure, sure." only to continue after the glass was full, "I know something on spices and I'm really amazed by what you've achieved with this." He said ponderously. Then he bent forward and, taking a few dried leaves of the plant he'd shown Nami almost two months before and, waving them, said, "It only works if they're fresh, you know?"

The noise in the room stopped as if by magic.

Nami huffed and puffed as she struggled to follow Zoro up and down the sandy hills. She felt sticky and uncomfortably hot but the green haired man showed no signs of discomfort and had kept the same wrenching pace through the entire way. It was, by her calculations, close to midday when Zoro finally decided to make a brief pause and allow her to try and regain some of her energy. Which wasn't much because there were no shades in sight and the ground was hardly what you'd call comfortable. It was only by strategically positioning that she was able to use a dune as a source of reprieve from the unforgiving sun they'd labored under for most of the morning. They were roughly half way there and the thought did nothing to lift her spirits.

They'd been sitting for ten minutes, she'd wager, when a soft, inconstant noise reached their ears. Zoro straightened and motioned for her to be quiet. Then, cautiously, he started climbing the dune, shifting the sun silently until he reached the top. Nami followed, somewhat more clumsily but still stealthily enough.

On the other side, down bellow, were a pair of men who, from the looks of things, had just exited from a hole in the ground. Nami narrowed her eyes and strained her vision. No, looking closer, it wasn't a hole. It was a gate of some sort, some kind of ancient looking, stone door that had been partially submerged by the sand. The darkness from inside looked tantalizingly cool to her.

"Who are they?" she whispered to her companion.

"No idea." was the answer, delivered in the same fashion, "But I don't like it."

"What? Why?"

"There's something fishy about it."

"What's fishy about two people getting out of a cool spot in the middle of a desert?"

"Because they're acting as if they're guarding something." Zoro explained, "And if they're guarding something, why aren't they identified? Because they're not law enforcers. If they're not law enforcers, they're not legitimate guards. They're probably tomb raiders or some sort of treasure hunters..."

"Treasure?!" came the excited whisper and Zoro turned just in time to see a greedy glint enter the girl's eyes.

"Oh, no you don't." he said, anticipating her intentions, "Where going to step around them and follow our way to the town and the Captain. No gallivanting around looking for money."

"Please...?"

"No-"

"Hey! Who the hell are you?"

"Shit!"

Zoro and Nami ducked, fleeing from the guard's inquisitive look and hurried down the dune. From the other side, they could hear the guard calling for help.

"Dammit! Zoro exclaimed while they tried to run around the structure and resume their way undetected, "This is all your fault!"

"My fault!?" Nami repeated incredulously.

"If you hadn't distracted us up there we'd never have been caught."

Nami opened her mouth, no doubt to try and pant some righteous fury upon the swordsman but, at that moment, there was a shout from behind them. Nami risked a quick look back and saw that several more guards were now running down the slope and trying to catch up to them.

Then, suddenly, from behind a small dune in front of them, jumped another man. Wasting no time, Zoro jumped right at him and smeared his knee all over the other's face. The man let out a pained gasp and fell to the ground, clutching his nose. There was more yelling now. To Nami's exhausted mind it was difficult to process what was happening. All she could do was keep following Zoro as the man turned and changed directions now and again, in an effort to lose his pursuers.

"Zoro..." she gasped, forgetting his directives regarding the teachings in her haze, "I don't think I can keep this up..."

And just then she tripped.

Zoro lunged, in an effort to catch Nami. An effort in which he ultimately succeeded. Unfortunately, the sand shifted and moved.

"What the hell?" Zoro mumbled.

All around him, the ground was moving, the sand like water in a river, flowing down a great slope. The dune was falling apart all around them, the sand following the path down and through what it seemed to be another hole in the ground, giving the whole place the appearance of a whirlpool made of desert.

With one futile effort to avert the inevitable, Zoro and Nami felt themselves be swallowed by the sands.

d

They landed with a thud and, for a moment, just stayed where they'd fallen, the sand engulfing them until the flow eventually diminished to a small stream and finally disappeared. Suddenly, a weak voice broke the silence, wavering and uncertain and it took a few moments for Nami to realize it had been her own voice that had spoken.

"What now?"

Zoro didn't answer immediately and Nami wondered what was going through the swordsman's head. Would he blame this development on her? She supposed her timing with her insistence in getting the treasure could have been better, but even so the previous accusation from the green haired man that their discovering had been her complete fault had stung.

He sighed.

"Now we get out of here and back to the Captain."

It was hard work getting rid of all the sand, especially in almost complete darkness. With the exception of a few cracks in the ceiling, here and there, there were no other sources of light that Nami could see, and for a moment they just stood there, hesitating in the dark.

Eventually, however, their eyes adjusted enough that they were able to see their surroundings. They'd fallen into what appeared to be a large room, big enough that Nami suspected the whole fair grounds of Cocoyasi could be fit inside it. Most of it appeared to be blocked by sand but, fortunately, on the wall nearby, stood what looked to have once been a door. Part of it was obstructed but, if they squeezed, they'd probably be able to pass through. As far as Nami could see, that was the only exit out of the room, since the way they'd come in was pretty much inaccessible anyway. The remainder of the room was pretty much unremarkable with the exception of the walls, which had a sort of uneven look about them.

With a gasp, Nami realized what she'd been looking at.

There were drawings. But not really drawings, she realized: the entirety of the wall was covered in reliefs depicting various scenes from what appeared to be an important event. Men and women dressed in exotic clothes gathered around what seemed to be a leader of some sort. In another one, a huge sea king, or at least an animal similar to it, attacked a large armada of ships. The people in the ships faced the monster with fierce expressions even as they fell to the seas. It was awe inspiring.

Nami turned, searching for Zoro and seeking his opinion, only to find that the man was already trying to slip through the entrance. She scowled. Of course he wouldn't care about pictures in the walls.

"What are you doing Zoro?" she asked, approaching him.

He gave her a look.

"What does it look like? I'm getting out of here." he frowned, "And I told you to calm me Sensei during the sessions."

Nami huffed and pushed, throwing him through the door and sending him tumbling down the sand.

"Shut up. I hardly think this is the time for that. The training has already been shot to hell, anyway."

She passed through just as Zoro got back to his feet. The exit had opened to a corridor that curved ahead and was immersed in darkness. This time, there were no cracks in the ceiling for light to come through but, from the other side, Nami thought she could make out a faint orange glow, that seemed to shift at irregular intervals.

"I think I see light, ahead." she whispered.

"Yes." Zoro agreed, "Let's advance. But carefully. If we're still in the same ruins, those might be our pursuers' friends."

Carefully they went, following the curving path, as the light grew more and more pronounced. Soon they were able to not only hear voices but understand what they were saying. The entrance to the room the corridor ended in was just ahead.

As far as they could tell, there were only two voices.

"So what happened back there?" asked one.

"Beats me." answered the other, "Some kind of disturbance. The guys upfront saw two strangers spying on the entrance."

"Spying?"

"Well, that's what they said. You know those new recruits, always looking for a chance to make a name for themselves. One of them even came back with a broken nose. Probably got it from a fist fight with one of the others and tried to make a story out of it..."

There was a pause and the first voice insisted, sounding worried,

"What if they were spies, though? I heard the Alabastans where tightening their laws on bounty-hunting and paramilitary groups."

Next to her, Zoro straightened slightly when he hear the reference to bounty-hunters.

The second voice sounded vaguely dismissive,

"I know. But I don't think it was them. The King of Alabasta has his hands full with Lord Crocodile's machinations. He's not going to waste resources on bounty-hunters, much less on a guild the size of our Baroque Works. We've got too much man-power to be taken down easily. He can't afford it."

"What about the Drummers?"

"They don't venture here. Desert territory is under Alabasta's purview. And Drum Kingdom's shot to hell, anyway. There's nothing to worry about."

"I hope you're right..."

"I know I'm right." replied the second voice, this time smugly, before changing to weary, "What I hope is that Lord Crocodile sends more men down here. I don't feel safe standing next to this thing..."

"I know. Just the two of us to guard this monster? The boss must be insa-"

No sooner than he heard the man say 'just the two of us', Zoro snapped from the wall he'd been pressed into and, without giving both Nami and the guards time to react, rounded the corner and closed the distance between himself and the sentinels in the blink of an eye. By the time the Navigator made it to the room, the two guards lay on the ground, a deep slash across each of their necks. Nami lifted a hand to her mouth, vaguely in horror.

"What the hell did you just do?" She almost screamed, "You murdered them!"

In a flash he was there, his hand pressed against her mouth, keeping her from making any noise.

"Shut up, you idiot! You're going to get us all killed!" he hissed. When it became obvious no one was coming he dropped to the two bodies and started going through their stuff, "These are members of a mercenary and bounty-hunting guild: Baroque Works."

"And that warrants you killing them just like that?" Nami asked almost hysterically.

"It warrants, because Baroque Works' specialty is assassination and kidnapping." he explained, not sounding phased in the least, "And they're known for not letting anyone alive to tell of their exploits"

"And yet you know about them." she fired sarcastically.

"They tried recruiting me, a few years back." the swordsman said, sending her a dry look, "Besides, I did the same line of work. They don't leave witnesses but their employers talk. How else would they get contracts?"

Nami stood in silent turmoil, her mind still not fully prepare to accept the validity of what her partner said. On some instinctual level, she knew they'd eventually have to kill some of their enemies, but to have it jump to her face without warning like that had left her shaken.

"What I don't understand is wha- hello? What have we here?"

With a quick movement, Zoro grabbed the torch hanging on the wall and approached the wall opposite to them. That's when she saw it. It was a figure, pressed against the wall, just outside the undulating glare of the torches. Its arms were raise above the head and were restricted in an odd way. The wrists were bound in two sets of handcuffs, one bulky and stony looking, which Nami found odd, because no one used stones as a binding material, and another, regular one out of iron from which sprouted a chain that secured the figure's arms against the mentioned wall. It was a woman, from the looks of it, and she was dressed in the most uncomfortable looking clothes Nami had ever seen. Looking closely, it didn't even seem as if they were clothes, just something designed to make sure not an inch of your body had any kind of contact with the outside air. From the shape, the figure seemed to be a woman, but given the tightness of the clothes, it was difficult to say for certain. Her head, if it was a woman, was completely wrapped in an artifact that did not allow for the person to see, hear, or even speak. The only thing it had free was the nose, so that the subject enclosed in it could breathe. It was prison for the senses, designed to isolate the victim from the world as completely as possible.

"Who is that?" Nami asked, half horrified at the woman's state.

"Probably a prisoner." Zoro said ponderously, "My first guess would be that she was an abducted prisoner they were keeping for ransom or for a client. But that doesn't explain this." he said, hesitatingly pointing to the gear the person was in, "this looks like a too specific apparatus for a normal prisoner. It makes me... uneasy."

"Why's that?" Nami asked, curiously edging towards the woman while, at the same time, maintaining somewhat of a safe distance.

"Because you don't go to this extent to bind a prisoner unless there's a good reason for it. And because these bastards were downright terrified of being here alone with her."

Nami felt silent for a few moments, pondering on his words. She was about to ask the swordsman on the best course of action when Zoro reached and, grasping the back of the woman's neck, began fumbling with the straps that kept a bondage ball pressed against her mouth. The woman jerked, an almost surprised move and the gag-ball came loose with a string of saliva. She gasped, inhaling deeply and it all looked disgustingly pornographic to Nami and she only had the presence of mind to note that the bondage item seemed to be made of stone as well.

Zoro barely got the opportunity to motion for the straps that held the head gear secure when things took a turn for the weird. Then went downright to horrific. The woman gagged loudly a couple of times and her tongue lolled out, an unnaturally long tongue that went pas her chin. The skin on the member rippled and bubbled and started to deform as an arm began to literally grow from the woman's organ.

"What the hell?!"

Zoro jumped away with a jerky reflex and Nami couldn't avoid the terrified scream that escaped from her throat. As the swordsman battled against his own horror, trying to unsheathe his swords with fumbling fingers, the arm violently thrashed and, with strength that seemed impossible to exist in a member hung from a fleshy thing like a tongue, forcefully ripped the suit at the sides. Two more arms started to grow at alarming speed from the holes ripped in the clothes and a mouth ripped open in the first arm and started speaking in a slightly rough voice before Nami's horrified eyes.

"You idiots." came the voice, "Sea-stone only works in direct contact with skin." with an arching movement, the unnatural appendices pulled the chain holding the original arms up and, with tremendous force, ripped them from the wall.

A new opening started to form on the arm and an eye sprung open just as Zoro finally managed to get a hold of himself and prepared to jump towards the monster. Who stopped and almost seemed puzzled for a moment.

"You're not Baroque Works." it stated, as an arm reached up and started to tug at the straps on the head.

There was a moment of stillness as Zoro and the thing seized each other up.

"What makes you say that?" the swordsman finally grunted.

The creature shrugged inconsequentially as the clasps finally started to come undone. The headgear fell to the ground, revealing a mass of hair that fell down in a straight stream an promptly encompassed the face of a woman.

"You don't give that feeling."

"And just from that you know we're not with them."

"The fact you just said 'them' pretty much confirms it, in a way." the woman remarked with a sly grin that made her look a little more attractive than she had the right to be, considering she was still speaking from a mouth in an arm hanging from her tongue.

Almost as if acknowledging that fact, the protuberances started to break apart, falling to the ground in pieces, like petals from a flower of a cherry tree.

"Sorry about the scare." she said, not looking apologetic at all, "You didn't happen to find a stony key lying around when you went about butchering these idiots, did you?" she asked, looking around the room and noting the dead mercenaries on the floor.

"Was that a Demon Fruit power?" Zoro asked instead, completely ignoring the question.

"Obviously." the woman replied with an eye roll, "Were you under the impression I could grow extra limbs by myself? Or did you think the sea-stone was a fashion choice?" she asked in a tone as if they were having a pleasant conversation and she hadn't just given them a vision of nightmares. Zoro did not relax one bit, Nami managed to note through the fog of terror that was slowly starting to dissipate.

"W-what's sea-stone?" Nami blurted out before the swordsman could retort.

The woman looked at her with a blank face.

"You're either terrible actors or you're awfully unprepared, coming to the Grand Line this ignorant." she noted dryly, "Either way, you're idiots." she commented, "How about this: find me the key and release me from this cuffs, and I'll answer a few of your questions. Do we have a deal."

As the two members of the Straw-hat crew continued to eye her with suspicion, the woman made a gesture of frustration and groaned, as if in commiseration for her own fate of dealing with such simpletons.

"Look, it's not as if I can't grow more right now! What are you afraid of?" she exclaimed in exasperation, "How would you like to run around handcuffed like this? It would be really easy to blend in with the crowd and avoid recapture, right?"

Zoro opened his mouth and closed it noiselessly, suddenly drawing himself straight and bending towards the other exit of the room, listening closely. Noticing this, the woman turned in that direction, listening intently as well and, with strained ears, Nami was able to make out the sound of several footsteps, approaching hurriedly.

"Shit!"

Zoro quickly hugged the wall, a motion that was copied by the mysterious woman, on the opposite side of the exit. Nami scampered to the wall next to the swordsman.

"Get out your knife." the First Mate whispered almost inaudibly, "We aren't getting out of here without making a few of them bleed."

The swordsman turned his attention to the corridor once again, not even noticing the jerky nods she gave him, as the girl gripped the handle of her jungle knife with shaky hands, her knuckles white with the force and fear both. Nami swallowed dry, her breath coming in short, ragged spurts as the footsteps grew closer and closer.

Suddenly there was a shout of alarm and a voice yelled, "She's not there!"

There was a flurry of invectives and curses and some the entire band of mercenaries seemed to roll into the room in an uncoordinated mass.

Zoro and the woman jumped them immediately not even giving them time to asses the situation. Cries of alarm mixed with screams of pain and the gurgle of blood and two bandits were down before any of the others had the time to relax. Nami stood petrified against the wall as the Pirate Hunter unleashed his fearsome fury into the hapless mercenaries, his demonic figure cutting limbs left and right. Close by, the woman made flowing movements with her arms, the motions somewhat stiff and uncomfortable, as she used the extra limbs she'd grown to keep the mercenaries at bay and waved her original arms in set patterns.

"This isn't working!" she screamed at Zoro, "cut my arms off!"

"WHAT?!" the swordsman screamed in disbelief, occupied in fending of two mercenaries at once.

"Just do it!" the woman insisted, "above the cuffs! Quickly!"

If it had been on any other situation, Zoro would have probably refused to acquiesce with the order. But, in the heat of the battle, he didn't even hesitate, his brain unconcerned with ethics or the security of a total stranger. In an arched move he broke from the engagement and severed the woman's arms in a quick slash, before returning to his fight.

The mysterious woman let out a hoarse cry and, with tremendous effort waved her freed limbs around and sprayed as many mercenaries with her blood as possible. Then, with great pain, the wound closed itself and the members started to regrow at the severed point.

There was a cry of disgust and fear from their enemies but Nami's attention was distracted by a sharp pain on her back, close to the side. She gasped a cry of pain and jerked a way, her hand coming from that spot red with her own blood as she spun around and faced a mercenary with a face twisted in a grotesque mask of terrified, desperate anger, in the face of the slaughter they were facing. The man screamed in wordless rage and ran at her, heedless of danger, blind by terror, his mind reduced to only the most basic of functions. Nami moved, the pain and terror making her unable to think and she jerked in an instinctive motion, her hand darting forward, past the flailing man's arms and burying her knife in his chest. The mercenary's eyes bulged, his breath hitched and he gurgled. He looked at his chest almost in wonder an toppled to the floor, dead.

Nami collapsed to her knees and looked around, her hand automatically going to her back, pressing against the wound. Looking around with wild movements she noticed that all the assailants were dead, just in time to see Zoro take notice of her state and widen his eyes at her wound.

There were petals everywhere, she noted absently as the swordsman ran towards her and the pain hit her full-force. It hurt. She could barely breathe. The last thing she remembered was Zoro's face hovering over her with a preoccupied expression while the woman observed dispassionately. Then darkness took her.

The first thing Nami became aware of was a frigid sensation right on her back. The cold eventually gave way to heat until the wound got back to burning with a fiery pain. She became aware that she was lying in a bed, her stomach down, and that a person was sitting on a chair at her bedside.

"Ah. You're awake. Good."

Nami's eyes widened and she tried to move as she realized who was standing there and the memories of the fight came back to her. A firm hand held her down.

"Don't move. You are still hurt. I'm only here as a stand-in in case your condition worsened. There are a few people who'll be very glad to see you awake." the strange woman, still clad in the rags of her torture apparatus, said, "I will call them here."

There was a rustling and the woman disappeared from her field of view. Nami laid there, washing her eyes over the room. The ornate desk and the immaculate chair told her where she was: Luffy's personal cabin. Now that she had placed herself, Nami realized she could actually feel the ship crashing against the waves. They'd probably set sail while she'd been unconscious.

There was a sound like a stampede and Nami couldn't avoid a smile when Sanji and Usopp crashed through the door and came barreling to a stop next to her, Usopp's kid face split in a joyous smile.

"Nami-swan!" Sanji exclaimed, doing what looked like a strange dance on the spot, "I'm so glad you're awake!"

"Are you alright, Nami?" Usopp asked at the same time, garbling both messages.

"I'm fine." she smiled in return, "It just hurts."

Sanji's face turned serious in an instant.

"Yeah, about that." he started, pulling a chair to sit down, "It's a deep wound. I've dressed it the best I can and Usopp put in a few stitches but you still have to be seen by a doctor. Don't try to move, alright?"

"You know how to stitch?" she asked Usopp, a surprised look on her face.

The kid bowed his head in an embarrassed way, "I learned a bit." he admitted, "Kaya always wanted to be a doctor and when she apprenticed as one I sometimes got roped into her lessons. But I don't actually know anything worthwhile." he finished, "If Robin hadn't found the first-aid kit you'd be in a very bad way..."

Nami tried shifting slightly and was rewarded by a piercing pain that instantly made her regret the attempt. Grudgingly settling down, she asked, "Who's Robin?"

"The chick that made it back with you and the seaweed." Sanji informed her, jerking his thumb towards the door, for once foregoing any of his antics, "You didn't know?"

"We didn't exactly have time for pleasantries." she explained, shuddering has the memories of the blood came back to her. "What about Zoro? Is he alright?" she asked frantically as another memory from the confrontation came back and she was faced with her own uselessness during the fight.

"He's outside, with the Captain. They're manning the ship." Sanji answered, placating "Robin-chan found a permanent log-pose to a country in the Grand Line supposedly famous for its doctors. She allowed us to use it in exchange for taking her to Alabasta, afterward."

With a grunt, the cook got up from the chair and to his feet, "Try to rest, Nami-chan. And don't worry about the ship," he added, as if reading her thoughts, "even Luffy can point the ship in the direction of a log-pose's arrow..." he grabbed Usopp by the collar and dragged the struggling teen to the door, "There, Nami-chan's fine so now you don't have any excuse to jump training." he stated, and rising his voice over the other's protests said, "have a good rest, Nami-chan!"

The door closed and the noises from Usopp's struggling grew increasingly fainter, until her ears could no longer catch them. Nami was left alone with her thoughts.

The aftermath of their adventure in the ruins more than hurt and not in physical way either. She'd been completely useless! Despair gripped Nami's heart as she realized that, despite all her talk of wanting to get stronger and pull her weight for the crew, she'd not only managed to freeze and get injured in a fight but had probably made Zoro's return to the ship and even harder task as well. Her mind started to review the battle again and again, berating herself for her mistakes and panicking with the irrational fear of being labeled as a burden and being booted from the crew.

It was some hours before her mind finally shut down, exhausted with pain and worry.

A.N.: New chapter. As has become the norm, late and out of order with the prediction on the profile page. I'm currently struggling with a scene in the Nightshade that I want to get right, thus why it hasn't been updated. That and because I have no time at all lately. Sorry, but I have to secure a life before I can write for leisure.

I hope you like this chapter. I'm kind of happy with how it came out.

Review if you'd like. As alwys I apologize for the mistakes.