Chapter 3 Coming together slowly

Luffy leaned into Garp, tucked securely under one arm. They were sitting on the cliffside overlooking the ocean. He was out of breath from running and wrestling all day but took some pride in the fact that his Gramps was just as dirty and sweaty as himself. Luffy knew he must be stronger and faster than he had been, or at least haki made a huge difference.

'I 'm setting sail. '

'Like hell. ' Garp responded quickly.

'No, I am. When you go, I am setting out. I 'll be King of the Pirates. Just watch me. It 's time to get my crew. '

'No. You 're going to be a marine damn it! ' Gramps rubbed haki covered knuckles over his scalp. 'What happened to waiting until you are 17? You can 't just take off like that. '

'I 'm a pirate. I do what I want! ' he argued back, squirming. 'I 'm never gonna be a marine, shitty gramps! No way. '

'Why not? '

'Because I 'm going to be free! '

'Bah! Where did I go wrong with you boys? You 'd make great marines! ' he lamented throwing his arms up dramatically.

'You never lied to us. ' Luffy answered bluntly as he smoothed his hair back down.

'What? ' Gramps looked honestly stunned and Luffy didn 't understand why.

'You never lied to us. ' He repeated slowly as he pointed out the obvious. 'We said it, over and over. We want to be pirates to be free on the sea. And you never once lied and said marines are free too. You never tried to tell us that we could be freer working for the government than sailing as pirates. You never lied about that. '

Garp stared at him mouth open.

'I couldn 't ever do it. Work for the World Government. Be a marine. Sabo sailed away at ten to escape being a noble. After the fire, after everything that happened Sabo- ' Luffy stopped because he couldn 't lie about his brother being dead when he knew different and he couldn 't say how Sabo joined the revolutionaries to save people. 'Those Celestial Dragons- ' he stopped again because he shouldn 't know anything about slaves much less have a friend who was nearly sold. 'My brother- ' he made a noise of frustration, eyes tearing because that hadn 't happened and Ace was

alive.

'Oh Luffy. ' Jiji pulled him into a hug, obviously getting the wrong message.

'Just- I know you like being a marine. I 'm glad there are marines like you with a good sense of Justice not just the kill-them-all sense of justice. ' His fists clenched and he pulled away from the hug to look his gramps in the eyes. 'It is not my dream. I 'm going to be King of the Pirates and be the freest person in the whole world. No one can stop me. Not you and not the government. That 's a promise. '

Luffy remembered Marineford and this man declaring himself an enemy. Remembered him demanding he be strong enough to avoid capture at Water 7. Luffy would be strong. He would get even stronger and he would never let himself be in a position where Jiji had to watch him fall. Not like before, with Ace.

'Can 't you wait at least? Give this old man two more years? You told me you were going to stay here and get stronger when Ace left. '

'No way geezer! I 'm leaving. It 's decided. '

'Decided by who? I say no! '

'I 'm the captain. I decide. '

'Ha! Captain of what? You don 't have a ship! '

'I 'll get one! ' he clenched his fists leaning towards the old man.

'Like hell you will! You 're staying right here. ' Gramps growled, all teeth, and leaned in as well pushing his forehead into Luffy 's own.

'Nope! ' Luffy pushed back with his own growl.

'Yes. '

'No. '

'I 'm setting sail. '

'You are not! '

'Yes! '

'No! '

'Shut up Old Man! '

'It 's not Old Man that 's Grandpa to you! ' he slammed a fist of love down.

'Stupid Gramps. ' Luffy rubbed his head grumbling. 'I 'm still going. '

Instead of throwing his own punch or taking off for another run he leaned back into his gramps for a side hug. The old man pulled him close and held him tightly.

'Two years isn 't so long. You can use it to get strong. '

Luffy remembered another two-year break where he did get really strong. Two years could make a huge difference. He couldn 't explain the time travel and how his crew were waiting. He couldn 't explain the need to reach Nami and free her or how Ace was in trouble and Sabo couldn 't remember. Instead he leaned into the old man until the tightness in his chest loosened and he could breathe again.

'Let 's eat. ' He offered instead of resuming the argument.

'Have any alligator? '

'MMmmm! We can catch some. I bet Dadan can cook it while we eat whatever is already cooked. Let 's go! '

XXXxxx

Zoro finally found the right house backed by tangerine trees. He recognized the porch from their short visit, probably. He gave a quick knock and signaled to the guys to wait. He stretched his observational haki and found that no one was near. With a shrug he let himself in. The house was small but definitely Nami 's. He found pictures of a young redhead alongside a blue haired girl in one of the bedrooms.

'I 'll stay here. Can you two go fetch the rest of this? ' He set down his three sake crates by the window.

'Sure thing big bro! ' Johnny and Yosaku replied in sync.

Zoro set about brightening up the house and making himself comfortable. He found a linen closet and pulled out a stack of blankets to make into beds for his two companions. It could be a couple days before Nami dropped in. That settled he pulled out a bottle of sake and sat at the table.

He heard the approach long before the door slammed open and he was faced with a branch wielding woman. Nami 's blue haired sister looked angry. It was a good look on her.

'Who are you? What do you think you 're doing in my house? '

'Relax. I 'm a friend of Nami. ' Zoro didn 't move from his position with his feet up on the table. 'I thought we 'd crash here until her next visit. Any idea when that will be? '

'I don 't know you! You can 't stay here! Get out of my house! ' she raised the branch higher.

'No. ' Zoro answered simply. He took a casual sip of his sake watching as she got more riled up.

'What do you mean, no? ' the blue haired woman stomped one foot. 'Get out of here! '

'Big bro? ' Johnny questioned from the doorway.

Nami 's sister -

what was her name? '

spun around swinging the stick at the other bounty hunters, short blue hair flairing about her face.

'Woah! '

'Bring that in. ' Zoro ordered the other two. He stood up and quickly disarmed the woman tossing the branch out into the yard. 'That was fast. '

'Yeah, the boat was actually really close by. ' Yosaku explained.

'It moved? ' Zoro frowned. He was certain he 'd tied it securely.

'No, the dock is actually just over that hill. '

'The whole dock moved. ' Zoro nodded. It figured that the island would move around

after

it took an hour to walk here.

'No- ' Yosaku started but Johnny interrupted.

'Sure bro. That 's possible too. Uhm ' so who 's the lady? '

'This is Nami 's sister. ' He tilted his head to avoid a punch. 'She lives here. We 're going to stay with her for a bit until Nami comes by. '

'No. You 're not! '

'I don 't think she likes that idea, big bro. ' Johnny set down the three crates he carried.

'Eh? She 'll get over it. It 's fine. '

'It 's not fine! '

'I made up some beds if you 're tired. ' He pointed.

'Did you just make yourself at home here? What is wrong with you?! ' Nami 's sister was starting to sound like angry Nami.

'What? '

'What do you mean what? You break into my house and act like you can just stay here! '

'I told you. We 're friends of Nami 's. Or I am. They don 't know her. '

'That doesn 't explain it! '

'I thought it did. '

'And Nami doesn 't have

friends

. So, whoever you are just beat it. '

'Eh? Oh right. I 'm Zoro. Nice to meet you. Thank you for your hospitality. '

'That 's not ' ' she had a strange twitch. 'I 'm sorry. Did you say Zoro? ' her voice had the same sugary tone Nami had around people with money.

'Yeah! This is Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro, my bro Johnny and I 'm Yosaku. The two of us are traveling with him as sort of companions so we can learn from him. Big bro says he doesn 't take students so we just, you know, work with him. '

The blue haired girl was pale. She looked between the three men and at their swords.

'You 're here for my sister? '

'We 're

friends

. ' Zoro repeated.

'You can 't be here. If Arlong or his men come by ' '

'They won 't find us here. We just need to hang around until Nami comes by. Are you expecting her soon? '

The girl made a wounded noise.

'Well whatever. We can wait. ' He put his feet back up on the table and pointed to the room. 'Beds are that way. '

'I 'm pretty sure that 's the front door. ' Yosaku replied. 'We can figure it out though bro. '

'Eh? Did it move? '

'What? Are you stupid? The rooms don 't just move. '

'Don 't worry about it ma 'am. ' Johnny smiled. 'Zoro and directions don 't mix. I didn 't get your name before? '

'Nojiko. '

'Thanks, Nojiko. I promise we won 't be any trouble. '

Nami 's sister was making that noise again. He offered her some sake. She started chugging the bottle. He should have expected she could drink. Nami could certainly drink. She stopped arguing though, so he decided it was okay if she finished the bottle this once. He grabbed another bottle.

'Cups? '

'No. '

He shrugged and took a sip, passing the bottle when she stared at him with big dark eyes.

XXXxxx

Usopp sat in his favorite tree weaving a tale about Great Captain Usopp and his crew. He gestured wildly as he described the brilliant linguist Rowan who spoke 100 languages, including beast languages, and was able to convince animals to help them on their travels. He explained Stormchaser Shami who lived on a cloud island before joining his crew and could make her own lightning. Usopp loved the way she lit up when he included the females.

His current story was about a young princess who was tricked by his butler who wanted to steal his fortune. He was just getting to the part where the princes begged Captain Usopp for help when he spotted a motion in the nearby window. He swallowed. Kuro.

'Ah but look at the time! '

'Oh Usopp! I have to know what happens! '

'Not to worry Kaya! Brave Captain Usopp will be back tomorrow! It wouldn 't do to rush the ending! ' he smiled brightly at her. 'Be safe! See you soon! '

He hopped out of the tree and darted quickly across the lawn. He cursed his lack of awareness. He should have been practicing his haki. Especially here. He 'd gotten carried away with his story and let it get too close to the truth. If that man heard anything ' Usopp swallowed hard. He didn 't think the Cat Pirate Captain would hurt Kaya. Not before he could do something to get her fortune. He would have to be extra vigilant. He was getting a handle on his coordination issues and had his training underway, but he wasn 't ready to take on a pirate crew single handedly. Even one as weak as this.

Where is everybody? Why haven 't they come?

XXXxxx

Nami held her ribs as she walked the long way around the village to Bellemare 's house. Arlong had been in a nasty mood all week. He 'd clashed with the Krieg pirates and come out in a draw. The Arlong Pirates were split between swearing revenge and saying that a bunch of weak humans that needed to fight in fleets weren 't worth it unless they tried entering their territory again. Arlong hadn 't decided either way yet but Nami had certainly felt his temper.

Hatchan had sent her away with instructions to bring back some tangerines for desert tomorrow. Nami wondered if he was trying to protect her with that order and if she had missed things like that in her past. Had she just not noticed? She probably resented bringing her tangerines back to the men who did this. It 's not like he ever stepped in to stop the violence or said a kind word to her or ' She forced her mind away from that. She 'd made peace with a different Hatchan who had grown from his experiences. She didn 't need to excuse or forgive or justify

any

of what they did. She just needed to keep surviving. She was good at that.

She was pleased to see the lights on at the house. She wouldn 't have to go searching for Nojiko. She was just pushing in the door when a voice called behind her.

'Nami, wait! '

Nami looked behind her to see the frantic look on her sister 's face.

If Nojiko is there, then who?

She turned slowly, scared to see who was in her house. A green haired swordsman was standing and grinning.

'Zoro! ' she launched herself into the house and into the man 's arms.

'Nami! ' he laughed, catching her easily. 'Don 't spill the sake you witch! '

'Zoro! '

He was too skinny and his hair was too short and he still had two eyes but it was him!

Zoro 's here!

'Oh! ' Nojiko was in the doorway looking shocked. 'You know each other? '

'I told you we were friends. ' Zoro said bluntly.

'What are you doing here if she didn 't believe you? ' Nami pulled away, confused.

'I figured I would wait for you here. ' 'He wouldn 't leave. ' They said at the same time.

'Ah. ' Nami nodded once. Then she slammed her fist on top of Zoro 's head. 'You idiot. You can 't just stay at people 's homes uninvited! '

'Oy! It 's your home too right? And anyway, I brought presents. '

'Presents? ' she beamed. There was only one kind of present she accepted from any of the crew.

'There. ' He pointed to the stack of sake crates.

'Sake? ' her tone was low and unimpressed.

'Psh. Open um. ' He was grinning again looking young and mischievous but wickedly

Zoro.

'Not the top one.

Nami pried open the second crate and gaped. Piles of cash. She opened the next. More cash.

'Should be about 38 million there plus some small treasures. I kept a log. '

'38 million? ' Nojiko looked floored. 'You had that the whole time? '

'Zoro! '

'This squares our debt. ' He said firmly.

'Oh, come here you idiot! ' she wrapped him in a hug. 'Where did you get all this? '

'Bounties. ' He shrugged. 'I had to get into shape, and I knew you wanted to save up. '

'Yeah. ' She stared at the money. Arlong would never honor their deal but Zoro brought her millions to try anyway. Her eyes filled.

'Hey. Hey don 't ' '

'How on earth do you know my sister? ' Nojiko demanded. 'People don 't just show up with millions of bellies. '

'I met her with my captain. We promised to help her with her dream. ' He smirked at the older woman.

'Don 't tease. ' Nami reprimanded gently.

'Now. ' Zoro knelt next to her, pushing more of the money into her lap. 'Tell me who did this. '

He tucked her orange hair behind her ear and gently touched the bruise on her face. Nami looked down, spotted the money, and gave it a cuddle. She took a moment to silently curse her crew for knowing her so well.

'It 's nothing. '

'No. It 's a bruise. On your face. Your ribs too unless I am very wrong. What it is, is unacceptable. Now tell me. '

'Zoro. '

'Nami. It 's been three weeks. You did what you needed. I 've got your back now. Let me help. '

Zoro didn 't usually give speeches but Nami thought this little pep talk was fairly good. He 'd probably listened to Luffy one to many times. She gave a little shiver and played with the money.

'It was Chew and Pisaro. It 's not a big deal though. '

'Eh. They hurt my crew. I 'll cut them to pieces. '

'Zoro you can 't take them alone. '

'I probably can. '

'You

can 't.

' she insisted.

'Luffy 's coming. '

'I might have to go back before he gets here. ' She warned.

'Damn it, no. '

'Yes. '

He growled standing to fetch his sake. Nojiko stared wide eyed.

'Guys. It sounds like ' ' her sister swallowed. 'You can 't mean to take on Arlong? '

'Is this enough? ' he pointed the pile of treasure. 'Can you buy your time? '

'I- ' she thought hard. '38 million plus treasure. I have to count it. Value the treasure. It will be close. I think I need 40.3 million. Let me ' '

'When do you need to go back? ' Nojiko interrupted.

'Tomorrow evening. I 'll need two baskets of tangerines too. ' Nami looked up guilty.

'I can do the picking. '

'I can help '

'Don 't worry big sis! ' Johnny interrupted. 'We can help big sis Nojiko. '

She honestly hadn 't noticed the two other bounty hunters in the room. Nami blinked at them both and looked at Zoro. The pirate shrugged.

'Okay. Oookay. So, I 'll count the treasure and you guys get the tangerines and then we can figure out what to do next. '

'Dinner first. ' Zoro interjected. 'You look like you could use a meal. It won 't take long, and it will keep your strength up. '

'R-right. ' Nami felt floaty like this was all a big dream. Zoro stared at her hard like he was looking right through her.

The swordsman gave a little nod and pulled off his bandana. For a minute she thought he was gearing up for a fight but then he leaned forward and fumbled as he tied it around her head. She blinked at him, then cracked up laughing. He laughed with her. The others stared silently.

'It 's not the same but- '

'No. But thank you. ' Nami touched the bandana with a soft smile. It did make her feel better.

Zoro was useless at anything emotional. He was trying awfully hard to step up without their captain. First with the speech, then with the bandana. He was doing it for her. Curbing his bloodlust because it is what she needs. He was good nakama.

XXXxxx

'What 's on your mind Eggplant? ' Zeff probed.

'Just worried about Nami. '

'She 's the one who called last week, right? '

'Two weeks ago now. I know she said it would be a month before I heard more but I hate that she 's there. '

'With Arlong. '

'She 's technically part of his crew, but she 's treated more like a slave. ' He clenched his fists. 'He 'll hurt her. Even if she comes out with no physical wounds, just being back there when she thought she was free ' ' he swallowed against the bile in his throat not sure why he was so worked up about this.

He hated anyone who laid a hand on a lady but for some reason he couldn 't find his rage. He just felt sick thinking of Nami being dragged back there. She shouldn 't be forced to face a past she left behind. She shouldn 't have to look her abusers in the face and pretend that nothing is wrong. She shouldn 't have to accept-

Zeff 's hand in his hair broke into his destructive thoughts. Sanji realized he was shaking.

It must be cold out. I didn 't notice.

He leaned into Zeff for warmth.

'I wish someone else would call. I know Nami is the smartest of this bunch, but really. How hard is it to look up a transponder number? If they would call, I could remind them that she 's

there

. If they called, I would know they can help. I would know ' '

'That they 're back? ' Zeff finished knowingly.

'I just miss them. Three weeks. We- I 've been back like this for three weeks. I keep expecting them to just show up on the horizon. It 's not like we haven 't been separated before. It just feels different not knowing why or how or how long. '

'They will come when they can. '

'I know. It 's not like I 'm eager to run off on you. I love it here and I missed you- '

'The sea is calling and your nakama is waiting, hurting even. I would give you a boat today if I thought you would leave. ' Zeff stroked his hair.

'It 's better I stay. Nami will call here in two more weeks. One of the others may call soon. '

'And before you know it, you 'll be on your way to the All Blue. '

'Yeah. ' He sighed. 'I 'm sorry about- '

'None of your apologies brat. You already tried that. '

'I 'm leaving you short-handed. And if I get a bounty, my

family '

'I am your family, idiot. ' Zeff rapped him on the head. 'Anyone who thinks otherwise can think again. Some North Blue assassins are no match for a good cook much less a restaurant full. We 'll keep a weather eye out for them, but don 't you start fussing. As for leaving us short-handed, ha. We 're probably better off without you ruining the soup. '

'My soup was perfect you old geezer. '

XXXxxx

Zoro watched Nami sleep. She was so young. He was sure when they 'd met she was taller and curvier. He knew that she hit a growth spurt over their two-year training. They all came back looking stronger and better than before. Looking at her now ' she was maybe 15, 16 years old. Still a kid. She still had the round cheeks and gangly limbs of someone still growing into their body.

His jaw clenched as he examined her bruise in the moonlight. She 'd refused to lift her shirt so he could check her ribs. They had all taken turns helping Chopper dress wounds before. Nami 's refusal had nothing to do with modesty despite what Johnny and Yosuku had to say about perverts. She was probably hiding more than one bruise. Zoro wanted to kill the bastards.

He wanted to gather Nami up and take her far away from here. She was too small to be the force of nature he knew she could be.

'Watching her sleep is creepy. '

Zoro looked over at the blue haired sister and shrugged.

'Seriously, what do you want with my sister? ' she glared at him. 'No one just gives away millions of bellies. What price is she going to pay for this? '

'No price. ' He denied. 'I told you, we 're friends. I owe Nami a lot more than a few million bellies. '

'

How?

'

'She saved my life. '

More than once. She navigated us through the Grand Line and predicted weather like she could tell the future. She fought at my side and watched my back. She drank with me and laughed with me. She 's my nakama. Our navigator. Not to mention the fact that she charges insane interest on loans.

'And after? You bring her money and talk like you know her and promise to take on the Arlong Pirates. What happens after? '

'That 's up to Nami. '

'What choice does she have? ' she sounded bitter and desperate. 'What has she promised? '

'She didn 't have to promise anything. Nami can do what she wants. I

hope

what she wants is to come with us. I want her to sail with us around the world and to draw her maps. That 's her dream isn 't it? '

Nojiko just looked at him wide-eyed. Zoro frowned at her. She was irritating asking the same questions over and over.

'How long have you known her? She just told you that? '

'Years. ' He answered absently before he realized.

'Oh. ' Her voice was quiet.

'I 'm going to sleep. ' He said abruptly and pushed himself away from the doorway. It was easier than looking at too-young-Nami and her blue haired sister who thought Nami was keeping secret friends.