Chapter 13 - A Thief's Confession

BodyNew chappie for your enjoyment! I'll warn you right now, though. I'm currently filled with anger, so don't be too suprized if I take it out on you. I think I can forcefully make myself forget the rage though. I just have to make this chapter take a turn for the fluffy and I'll get too distracted to be pissed off. ^^;One Piece belongs to the man with the plan. Go Oda! Go Oda! ...What? Don't give me that look!!-o-Chapter Thirteen-o-"What's your problem!?" Usopp shouted at a very irritable swordsman."Stop bothering me! I don't have time for you right now," Zoro knew he was being unreasonably mean to the liar for no real reason, but he was too pissed off to care. He had been like that since his encounter with Nico Robin the two days before. He had even snapped and yelled at Chopper. Between Nami's declaration of war and Robin's display of knowledge, he was nearly homicidal. He was beginning to consider cleansing the world of all women."I just wanted to borrow one of your weights! I only need a small one!""I said no!""C'mon~!! I'll give it back when I'm done with it!""Get away from me before I cut off one of your arms!"Usopp instinctively held his arm. "Why are you being such an asshole?? I need it so I can test out my new invention!"Zoro narrowed his eyes. "If you don't stop pestering me by the time I count to three, I will remove one of your limbs."Usopp swallowed noticeably. "But, Zoro-""One.""Come on, please?""Two."Roronoa pulled a katana partially from it's sheath.The long nose's eyes widened at the sight. "Thr-"Usopp turned quickly and bolted for the other end of the ship. He nearly flew right into Nami who had been walking towards them."Hey!" She turned to watch Usopp flee. "What's wrong with him?""What do you want?" Zoro's tone indicated that he wanted a quick answer."I was just going to ask how things were fairing for you and Luffy," She smiled innocently. "There's no reason we can't have a friendly chat about the one we love, right?"The swordsman glared. "What do you really want?""Is that answer really that hard to believe?" She batted her eyelashes. "I can be nice sometimes too, you know.""When you want something, you can be."The redhead laughed. "And what would you have that I could possibly want? You're not just broke, but you owe me money!"Zoro stayed silent. There was really nothing he could say to that. It was true that he owed the navigator quite a few belli. "Actually," She began. "I came to tell you to take a nap.""What?""I don't know why you're in such a bad mood today, but it's really getting on everybody's nerves. You even made Chopper cry!"Roronoa looked at his feet. "I- I didn't mean to...""Well, do us all a favor and take a nap or something. It's not our fault you're cranky.""I don't need a nap! If everyone would get the hint and leave me alone, I'd be fine!""Well, if you want to be alone, stay away from the places we are. We shouldn't have to change our routines to suit your needs, you know!""Gah!! Fine!"Zoro stomped away to the storage room. I hate that woman so much!! He knew she was right, but that didn't change the fact that he wanted to skin her alive and roll her in salt. He blamed all his anger on Robin. If she had just minded her own business, I wouldn't be so pissed off!The storage room was still a mess from the night before. There was flour everywhere. Luckily, Sanji hadn't had to venture in for ingredients yet. If he had, the cook would be a little less than pleased. In fact, he doubted any of the crew would be too happy about it, considering they were all already on bad terms with him after the way he had been behaving...Zoro made a noise that was somewhere between a growl and a sigh. God, I'm a jackass...He left the room and went to the kitchen. He was lucky enough to find that no one was there at the moment. He grabbed the broom and dustpan from a corner and headed back to the storage room. I guess I can at least clean up this mess. Maybe Sanji and Nami wont notice the flour that's missing... He almost laughed. Yeah, right.It took a while for him to get most the flour. The powder had managed to get everywhere. It didn't help that there was tons of bags and boxes to get in his way as he swept. It also didn't help that he sucked at cleaning. He wasn't able to get nearly all of it, but at least he managed to sweep up the majority of the mess. The youth couldn't help but feel a little proud of himself for sweeping up the flour. It wasn't often that the man cleaned a mess without it being requested first.When he returned the broom to the kitchen, he was disappointed to find Sanji there. I guess I can only be so lucky...The cook gave him an odd look. "What were you doing with the broom?""What do you think I was doing with it?""Don't give me that shoot. I've never seen you sweep a thing since I first set foot on this ship.""I made a mess. I cleaned it," Zoro placed the broom where it belonged and stared at the cook. "Is there something wrong with that?"Sanji looked as though he was contemplating the answer. "I... guess there isn't...""Okay, then."Sanji narrowed his eyes and stared at the swordsman as he left the room. He couldn't help but be suspicious of a Zoro who cleaned his own messes. The Love Cook made a mental note to check the ship for damages later.What's so weird about me cleaning?? He frowned. There's nothing wrong with it! I can clean a mess if I want to!!He meant to head back to the storage room, but without thinking, he walked onto the stern. He couldn't help it. It was where he usually liked to sit when he was annoyed. When he realized what he had done, he stopped walking. He immediately noticed Luffy perched on top of Merry's figurehead. Even without seeing his captain's face, he knew the boy was grinning like a child. Before he could stop himself, he approached his friend."Hey, Luffy.""Hi, Zoro," Luffy turned his head, the grin present."Having fun up there?" He asked with an eyebrow raised."Yeah."Zoro stared out at the waves with his captain. It made him feel a tiny bit better. The ocean would never fail to ease him. That's what made him love being a pirate. Being surrounded by ocean had always eased his mind."Zoro..?" Luffy began suddenly."What?""Do you think we should have caught that bird?""What? Well, I wanted to... Why?""I bet it would have tasted really interesting," He said with an ear-to-ear grin."Uhh... I guess it might have. I've never eaten a bird-turtle before...""Too bad we left it..." Luffy frowned.Zoro chuckled. "Well, if I ever see another one, I'll bring it back for you.""Really?" Luffy smiled excitedly. "You promise?"Zoro returned the smile. "I promise."The straw hat adjusted his hat and beamed at the swordsman.The green-haired boy felt a familiar flutter in his stomach. Now would be a good time to tell him... He thought nervously. Just do it. No one's around right now. Do it and get it over with."Luffy...""Yeah?"Doitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoitdoit... "I've been meaning to tell you something..."Luffy turned around on the figure head to give his friend his full attention. "What is it, Zoro?"Zoro's courage was begining to waver. Just say it! If you say it, this will all be over. Even rejection is better than dragging this on like this!"..." He kept his eyes on the boy in front of him, but there were so many thoughts buzzing through his head, he could hardly see straight. "I wanted to tell you that... Well, I..."Luffy tilted his head and blinked. "What do you want to say?""Lately I realized that, well, I noticed a few things.""Uhh...""A few things... about you," Zoro wanted to smack himself. Stop stalling, pussy!!"Me?""Uhh, yeah. Well, actually, what I did was notice the way I was noticing things about you."The captain looked like he had been asked a difficult algebra question. "...What??""I... Never mind!" Zoro's face was bright red as he stormed away. I can't do this! This was a stupid idea! What even made me think this would turn out well!?The young man went straight to the storage room. His entire body felt hot, like he was covered in a blush from head to toe. He slammed the door shut and flopped onto a sack of flour. All he could do was glare at the ceiling. If he could have thought of a reason to blame the ceiling for what had happened, he would have. Damn ceiling...Why am I having so much trouble telling Luffy? He had never had any problems communicating with the boy before. In fact, one of the things he had always loved about the boy was the fact that the two of them could often understand each other without using words at all. Maybe that's the problem. Neither of us are very good at talking. Maybe I should be trying this another way...He turned onto his side. But how could I let him know any other way? I doubt he'd stay still long enough for me to show him... He had to metally slap himself to stop the naughty images that immediately filled his mind. He sighed. Not that I'd even know what to do with him... The teen hadn't had a whole lot of experience with women, let alone men. He doubted he would even know what went where if he had the opportunity to - Well, you know - With Luffy.He stood up. Things were just getting ridiculous now. He left the room and headed back toward the stern. I'll just tell him. I can't let this go on any longer. I'm a man! I wont cower like a woman any more! He continued to mentally egg himself on as he walked. He just hoped Luffy would still be where he left him. When he reached his destination, he was disappointed to see the spot on figure head was empty. To make things worse, Nami was standing near it instead."Are you looking for Luffy?" She asked as he failed to escape without being detected."It's none of your business what I do.""He went downstairs."Zoro eyed Nami suspiciously. "Why are you telling me that?""What?" She put a hand on one hip. "Knowing where he is wont make him yours.""And helping me wont make him yours," He replied. "I know you're hiding something from me.""Congratulations," She said sarcastically. "All you have to do now is figure out what it is." "Dammit, Nami! Stop fracking with me!" He got a few paces closer. "First, you told me to make up with Luffy. Then you tell me you wont let me have him," He counted off each event on his fingers. "Then you try and act like you've already won," He stared at her. "And now you're helping me find him? Just what are you trying to pull??"She smirked. "Maybe I'm just trying to confuse you.""Nami..." His tone sounded as though he was making a request.The woman almost looked regretful for a split second. "If you want to know what's motivating me, you'll have to figure it out on your own," She turned around and leaned on the ships railing. "It's really none of your business, anyway..."Zoro grabbed her by the arm and turned her around. "Nami, you..." His words died in his throat. There was a stray tear rolling down the woman's cheek. "What are you...?"She shoved him away. "Do you really want to know what's going on?" She wiped away the tear angrily. "I already know I don't have a chance, okay? Does it make you happy to hear that? Does it??"The color had drained from the swordsman's face. He could barely understand what was going on. She's crying? Could this all be an act? One look at the red head's face told him it couldn't be."I already knew how Luffy felt about you..." Nami looked away. "I wanted to believe I could make him forget, but it wasn't long before I knew it was pointless.""But...""I knew the only person he would be happy with is you." She narrowed her eyes. "But you're too stupid to do anything right yourself...""So, you tried to help by getting in the way??" Zoro stared at the woman in disbelief. "What the hell is the point in that?""Are you a complete idiot?? When did I ever get in the way?" She let out a deep sigh. "Since you're a moronic man, I did the only thing that a moronic man can understand. I became a threat. I know how your brain works, Zoro," There was almost a smile on her face. "I figured if I threatened to take Luffy away, you'd try a harder to win him for yourself. The only thing you understand is a challenge."Zoro refused to admit that she had been right. It had been her challenge that had finally made him decide to tell Luffy his feelings. He never would have thought that the woman had done it on purpose, though."But, why..? Why would you go through all this trouble?"She smiled weakly. "Because I want Luffy to be happy."Zoro couldn't believe what he was hearing. Since when was she capable of doing something so... selfless??"Even if his happiness means I have to let a muscle-brained idiot like you have him," She added.The swordsman was too taken back to respond to the insult. "Nami..." He felt like he had done something horrible to the woman. He knew there was something he should say, but he had no idea what."Don't you dare!" She barked. "If you even think about pitying me, I'll make you regret it! I knew what I was doing from the begging. I don't need anything from you," Her eyes were filled with resolve. "Just be happy I decided to tell you any of this. You're lucky I didn't carry it to my grave."Zoro looked down at his boots. "Uhh... Thank you." His voice was barely audible.Nami cocked an eyebrow. "What?"Roronoa met her eyes. "I said 'thank you', dog. Don't make me say it again!"Nami's eyes widened. "Did you just say...?" She let out a laugh. "If you want to thank me, do it with gold.""Like you said earlier, I already owe you money. Don't expect anything from me."She scowled. "Then don't waste my time with a thank you." She turned and began to walk away. "You had better do something about Luffy soon. If you don't, I might change my mind and keep him for my self."He watched her disappear through the door to her room. She closed the door without looking back.Zoro leaned against the railing and stared at the ocean. "I will."-o-Chapter End-o-Finally!! I've been waiting for that part forever! See? Nami's not all bad! In fact, she was even a little corny! I hope I wrote that scene okay. Hopefully neither of them seemed too out of character. Are you pleased with the length? I made sure this chapter wasn't as pathetically short as the last one. That last chapter even made me sad. ^^;Oh, and I'd like to thank all of my reviewers! I've made it over one hundred reviews! And that's only on FF.net. I'd like to thank you all so much! I wish I could respond to every single review, but I'm too lazy for that. Plus, it might take a while... I just want you all to know how much a love and appreciate each and every comment. If it wasn't for you guys, I doubt I'd have even gotten this far. *Hugs her reviewers* WUV!The end is near... Review!

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