A/N: It took a while ... Five months to be exact :\. But here it finally is! The conclusion of After Dark with 10,000+ words! Hope you all enjoy it!

Chapter 6: Divided

There might as well of been no one in the Sunny's kitchen. Despite the entire crew being there, it was dead silent. Nami was still had her hand cupped tightly to Luffy's mouth in fear, and as for the rest of the crew, well, shocked would be an understatement. Even Robin had the same expression as the rest of the crew. Despite her knowing what was going on between the two all along, she never would've guessed Luffy would be so numbskulled as to try to talk about what should never be spoken out loud.

Nami slowly released her hand from Luffy's mouth and he two of them stood side by side. Her heart sank. She didn't look at Luffy, but she could sense that he realized he messed up now based upon the crew's reactions.

"Uhh..." Nami said hesitantly. Large beads of sweat were forming all over her skin.

The loud thud of Usopp fainting pierced the silence.

"Wait... Luffy..." Zoro finally said pointing at Nami. "Are you telling me you tamed this witch?"

That remark was able to break a lot of the tension in the air. Nami was able to stop sweating and went back to her angry self at the moment.

"Who you calling witch you-"

A huge smack and crash had interrupted her. She turned to find Luffy was gone and replaced with the cook. Sanji just kicked their captain through the wall. Luffy's body was caught by the railing but it cracked it bad. Any harder and Sanji would've kicked him overboard. Luffy had a trail of blood leaking out of his mouth now.

"Luffy?!" Chopper screeched.

Franky immediately shot up out of his chair.

"Oi! What the hell do you think you're doing Sanji!?" Franky yelled at him. "You're damaging my Sunny!"

"Like I give a damn you half human." Sanji glared.

Franky was just as angry though. His ship meant the world to him. For someone to disrespect it so greatly like Sanji just did was unforgivable in his eyes.

The shipwright pulled out the machine gun on his left arm and aimed it at the kitchen.

"Well how about I make it even then you bastard cook."

"Like I said. I don't give a damn you half human." Sanji repeated without batting an eye towards him.

Sanji's behavior started to scare some of the Straw Hat's. Franky choked for a second. This didn't make any sense to him. He would've bet his life on it that Sanji would've backed down the second he started threatening his precious kitchen, but he responded without giving a single care in the world... Something wasn't right with him.

Sanji started to slowly walk over to Luffy who was sprawled out across the half collapsed railing. He was sitting up, but wasn't moving. His hat shadowed his face completely.

"Dammit Sanji! Wait!" Frankly yelled.

But Sanji kept walking.

Nami started to panic. It looked like Sanji was going to kill Luffy. Someone had to stop him, but before Nami could act, Zoro had already dashed to Sanji's side and slapped his sheathed Shusui on Sanji's chest.

"That's far enough eyebrows." Zoro threatened.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sanji glared at him.

"What do you think you're doing? Luffy's our captain and you look like you're ready to rip him to shreds."

"And you're going to fight me over it?"

Zoro grinned. "Of course I would you shitty cook. I would have it no other way."

The atmosphere in the kitchen suddenly became cold and thick. The tension between the two was so powerful that it might as well of been visible. Their murderous intent skyrocketed.

Sanji's flames of anger rose around him and Zoro's purple demonic essence leaked out. They looked like two devils hell bent on destruction. There was no mistaking it, they were aiming to kill each other.

Neither one of them was showing the slightest bit of hesitation. Their resolve was firm and unbreakable. Zoro started to slowly unsheath his Kitetsu and Shusui.

Nami was in panic. Two of her crewmates are about to attempt to kill each other and all she could do was watch. The deadly aura was too strong to have her move forward.

"Y... You have to stop them." Nami told herself. "They're about to kill each other... They'll die if you do nothing... Move... Move dammit!"

Her mindset forced her to start moving. She took a step forward, her soul felt like it was getting crushed under all the murderous aura.

She had to stop them, but it took all her willpower to simply take a step towards them.

She tried to move forward once again, but then it happened. Sanji and Zoro lunged at each other. Nami's face washed over with complete panic.

Then... Nothing.

Nothing happened at all. Sanji and Zoro stopped right before they collided on the dime. Their killing intent was gone and both of them were sweating and in shock.

Then the rest of the crew in the kitchen felt it with a second burst. The power in the air caused them to tremble. Chopper even passed out.

The tension of flimsy wood echoed the silenced crew as Luffy was heard slowly getting up off the railing. His haki of the conqueror was pouring out of his soul and flowing across the kitchen.

His steps as he was slowly walking back inside were like thunder as his seemingly flimsy grass flip flops seemed to crack the air under their soles.

The straw hat's immediately knew what it was. But they had never felt it directed at them. It shocked them and felt so overpowering.

Luffy's aura wasn't sinister but it was very far from soothing. It wasn't full of rage but it wasn't happy. It was only full of one thing, purpose.

Luffy stopped a couple feet away from Zoro and Sanji who were resisting it quite well compared to the others. Although they were still fighting to stay conscious.

That was when Luffy ceased using his haki. Gasps of breath shot out from every direction from the room besides for the already unconscious Usopp and Chopper. The crew slowly got to their feet wobbly.

"My goodness." Robin thought to herself. "I didn't know Luffy's Conqueror's Haki was at this state. It's almost as powerful as Dragon-San's."

Luffy's hat covered his face from the crew. It was impossible to know what he was feeling at the moment.

"I should do something about this." Franky thought attempting to get off his one knee. "This is getting out of hand way too fast."

But before he could try anything, Sanji had already bolted up onto his feet and swung at Luffy once more with his heated legs. Luffy, however, didn't let Sanji kick him again and caught his leg without batting an eye.

"I never saw that kick coming." Robin also noted. "His observation haki is well above average as well. Was his skill always at this level? Or is the heat of the moment pushing his observation past his capabilities?"

"Oi! Sanji!" Franky shouted. "That's enough."

Sanji naturally ignored him like before.

"You think you can intimidate me with your conqueror's you shitty captain? Not a chance. I'll beat you so bad that the marines won't be able to recognize you anymore! How would you like that?!"

Short seconds of silence fell over the room until Luffy finally opened his mouth.

"There's no need for that... Zoro."

Sanji then felt the cold edge of a sword touching lightly against the back of his neck.

"So he still wants to fight huh?" Sanji thought.

Zoro didn't take his eye off Sanji for a second when he responded.

"I have no doubt you can handle him Luffy, but swirly brows just made this personal. I'm asking for you to please let me h-"

Luffy let go of Sanji's leg and punched Zoro square in the face at a speed faster than a blur. The swordsman crashed backwards into the wooden wall adjacent to the room. Everyone was left shocked.

Sanji lost his focus. Zoro prayed himself out of the wall and spit out a small amount of blood. He gave Luffy a very angry eye.

"Dammit Luffy! Why the hell..."

"HAVE I BEEN THAT HORRIBLE OF A CAPTAIN TO ALL OF YOU?!" Luffy shouted. "WHEN THE HELL SHOULD NAKAMA EVER TRY TO KILL EACHOTHER?! HAVE YOU ALL LOST IT?!"

Zoro had never been surprised at a single moment since they entered the New World until then. His usual tough, calm, and focused outward appearance was shredded in several sentences.

Not just him, everybody in the room felt as if their heart was just smacked by a cannon. They could hear pain in his words.

Franky and the rest of the onlookers had only watched this entire thing up until. An idea hit the shipwright in the quietness of the room.

"We should probably go." He thought. "This isn't our argument to take part in."

The cyborg walked over to the limp Usopp and Chopper, grabbed their collars, and turned towards the door.

"Robin, Brook, we should probably go."

The two agreed with a subtle nod and followed him out the door. Leaving without making much of a sound. The other 4 didn't even seem to notice them leave.

"...Jeez..." Franky sighed loudly when he heard the door close behind him. "Why couldn't we just go to bed normally like every other night? I never imagined it, the captain and the navigator... a thing."

"It is quite surprising." Robin said holding her chin. "But we shouldn't get too hung up on that. What's important right now is that Sanji's obsession with women has caused him to turn on Luffy. This could... No, it will almost certainly cause a division in the crew."

"You're probably right. But I doubt there's anything we can do about it. We just need to hope the four of them can get past what has happened... But that won't be an easy task."

It was just a couple seconds later when Franky and Robin realized something he should've noticed much sooner. They both halted.

"Say Brook..." Franky said turning towards him. "What's with you? You were quieter than a ghost back in there."

"Hmm? Ah. Yes. Sorry about that Franky-san. I guess that's because watching that scene felt like déjà-vu all over again."

"Excuse me?"

"Yes. You heard right. A very similar situation happened in my original crew many years ago."

X X X X

"I don't care!" Sanji yelled. "Why? Why Luffy?! He's a massive idiot!"

"How can I even explain that to you?" Nami yelled back. "It just sort of... happened."

"How?!"

"That's none of your damn business!"

Sanji was re-building up his anger fast, but he couldn't let it out on Nami. He turned to Luffy.

"Then you explain this you rubber brain!" He yelled at Luffy grabbing his shirt. "I've known you just as long as everyone in this room. This couldn't of 'just happened'."

Luffy didn't respond. He just stared at him. Sanji grew even more irritated and raised his fist.

"ANSWER ME DAMMIT!"

"SANJI STOP!" Nami pleaded.

Sanji's fist was shaking and his blood was boiling. Luffy blank, angry stare was infuriating.

"SANJI!" She yelled once again.

The cook kept getting angrier and angrier...

Then... He stopped

The unexpected happened. Sanji slowly let go of Luffy without laying a finger on him.

"Because you asked me Nami-san... I will listen to you." Sanji said before lighting a cigarette. "But I won't ever approve this."

Sanji took a long drag. A large grey cloud escaped his lips and lifted up slowly towards the ceiling. Zoro and Nami watched him cautiously the whole time.

"I'll be in the crow's nest for the night." He said leaving the kitchen. A faint "goodnight" was heard from him right before the door closed.

When the door finally clicked shut, Nami collapsed to the floor on her knees. It was the first time in many minutes she could finally breathe.

She sighed in complete relief. "It's over."

Zoro frowned.

"You're naive to think this is the end of the dispute Nami." Zoro said sternly. "This is just the beginning."

"Naive?!" Nami exclaimed feeling insulted. "I just stopped Sanji from losing it."

"That may be, but do you seriously think you changed his point of view on the matter?"

"I-I mean... No. But we've gone through way worse as a crew. We three should just talk to him over the next few days and after that, I'm sure he will come back to our side."

"Nami, I can guarantee that won't work. You may not see it, but we're the last people on earth that ero-cook wants to see."

"Like you have a plan? Sanji's still Sanji so my charm will always work on him. Hey Lu-"

"I'm going to bed." Luffy interjected passing right in between the two and leaving the kitchen before either of them could say a single word to stop him.

"L-Luffy." Nami exclaimed starting after him. But Zoro grabbed her shoulder before she took her first step.

Nami turned and Zoro simply shook his head at her. "Don't... The best thing you can do for Luffy is to leave him be for the time being."

"B-But I..."

"Please... Just not now. He needs time to think things through."

Nami turned back around and looked at the door, then back at Zoro. She bit her lip to control her anger and finally slowly nodded before backing up into a seat and burying her face into her hands.

Zoro leaned up against the counter and sighed.

"All I can say is that I'll always be on your guy's side" he said solemnly. "Luffy's my captain and I've gladly devoted my life to his dream... No matter what turn it takes."

Nami wanted to say thank you but couldn't. She heard his footsteps then trailing away.

"Goodnight"

Then the door opened and the swordsman finally exited the kitchen. Nami was now alone.

The girl lifted her head from her palms and scanned around the kitchen. There was holes in the walls, the floorboards were cracked, and the railing outside was mangled. It was a complete mess... and just a couple minutes ago, they were having a peaceful late dinner. Now the crew is divided.

There was nothing she could do. The crew had to find out about she and Luffy at some point... but how it happened went so wrong.

Nami eyes started to water. She buried her head into her arms on the table and tried her best not to tear up.

X X X X

Moments before, at the stern of the ship

"What?!" Frankly exclaimed. "Your crew members that were in a relationship had to leave the crew?"

"Well... Yes. The two of them agreed it would be for the best. There was too much tension and a pirate's life is a dangerous one. So they both parted ways with the crew at the next island. And after that we never had another woman in the Rumbar Pirates."

"Well... That would seem like a logical route for them to take..." Robin started. "But that isn't a possibility for us since Luffy is our captain."

"Dammit..." Franky told himself. "And I thought you had a solution to this shit show..."

Silence ensued.

Franky let out a loud sigh. "Well... I really thought we had a chance to solve this issue. Looks like we really can't help this situation in any way.

"I mean... We could try talking to Sanji-san" Brook suggested.

"That's a bad idea." Franky immediately said. "That would just make him angrier."

"There's also Usopp and Chopper." Robin brought up. "They were the most shocked of anyone, so I don't think they'll be supportive of Luffy and Nami when they wake up either."

Franky sighed again. "Well, I guess I'll go to bed. I'm sick of thinking about it. Let's just deal with it in the morning."

"Ah, me too. Wait up Franky-san!" Brook yelled trailing him.

Robin remained at the stern and leaned against the railing. She watched the two abnormal humans disappear around the corner. She herself began walking back to her dorm.

"I guess I'll try to stay up and wait for Nami." She told herself.

X X X X

Nami didn't have the slightest clue as to how long she had been staring off to the side at the remote kitchen. Her head was sideways and resting peacefully in her arms. As she was coming to, she noticed thin lines of blackness, which was her hair, dividing her eyesight.

She felt like a mummy rising from a grave when she finally decided to sit up. She made an attempt to fix her hair, but having the weight of her head on her arms for such an extended period left them dead asleep. She gave up and let them dangle there.

It was late. She could tell that just from the atmosphere. Probably sometime close to midnight to be exact. Nami liked it this way. All the drinking, eating, and partying was enough to convince her everyone on the ship was out cold. So she was confident she was done with awkward and depressing conversations for the night.

The dark was great. Everything good seemed to happen after dark. Which is the reason why Nami cherished the night. It was private, welcoming, and safe. All those reasons were why she chose to spend nights with Luffy.

Nami wished she could just fall asleep in the kitchen, but by doing that she would have to wake up to the entire crew flowing into the kitchen for breakfast. That awkwardness was something she couldn't face.

With a bit of difficulty, she got up wobbly from her chair and made her way out of the kitchen... Then it was Deja vú all over again.

She looked down the ship and there he was, back on the lion's head. Luffy, sitting just how he was five nights ago and looking into the endless blue sea of the New World. Only God could possibly know what he was thinking now.

Nami wanted with all her heart to go over there and talk with him like she did on that night, but Zoro's words kept echoing in her head

"The best thing you can do for Luffy is to leave him be for the time being."

It didn't feel right to do. She understood it, but it still didn't feel right.

Nami bit her lip and sagged her head. She regrettably made her way to her dorm.

"I'm sorry Luffy." She whispered as she exited the deck.

She didn't plan on it, but Luffy, all the way up at the headpiece, could hear her apology as clear as day.

"No... I'm sorry."

X X X X

A very bright light from the window awoke Nami the next day. She arose slowly but quickly realized something was wrong. Her navigation experience told her the sun's position indicated it was nearly noon. She hadn't slept that late since being on the Sky island. Her crew's loud nature usually always woke her.

Nami quickly got dressed and walked outside to see what was going on.

Under normal circumstances, what she saw out on deck would seem like a normal day. Chopper and Usopp fishing, Zoro working out in the crow's nest, Robin reading at the far back deck, but something was clearly different about all of them compared to a normal day. She could feel it in the atmosphere. They were all actively avoiding each other. Silent as ever.

She could see it. The crew had made their own groups and avoided others. It may not of been their intentions, but the groups were unintentionally made based upon opposing views on Luffy and Nami's relationship.

It went as followed.

Sanji - Against.

Usopp and Chopper - Still very shocked about last night. Probably aren't actively against it likes Sanji, but judging by the fact they aren't fooling around with Luffy like they do every morning. They probably aren't for it either.

Robin, Franky, Brook - Neutral. Don't want to take a side. Acting on what is best for the crew.

Luffy, Zoro, Nami - In favor.

This is the current state of the crew as Nami looked around. They had to bring their crew back together before they set sail in tomorrow. Otherwise, they will be a considerably weaker crew. And in the New World, that spelled certain death.

Nami walked down the staircase onto the main deck of the ship. Everyone there seemed deep in thought. They didn't even seem to notice her come out on deck.

Usopp and Chopper sat on the railing of the grass deck looking out into the sea. Usopp's fishing rod started to shake but he wasn't even responding to it. Like he was in a daze.

"Usopp... Chopper?" Nami asked.

"Both of their bodies grew stiff at her voice. They didn't respond to her.

"...helloooo..." Nami called once again and a step closer.

"Oh hey Nami..." Usopp said without facing her and slowly scooting away. "Sorry... Can't talk right now... uh... me and Chopper have super important things to-"

"QUIT TREATING ME LIKE I'M THE PLAGUE!" Nami yelled smacking them with her clima-tact off the railing and into the mast. Zoro jolted awake.

"Enemies?! Who's there?!" He said in a daze.

Once his eye adjusted, he saw Usopp and Chopper twitching on the ground with Nami standing over them. He got worried that Nami was about to reflect some of her anger on him... but the last thing in the world he would expect happened to him.

"Oh. Did I wake you Zoro? Sorry about that." Nami apologized sweetly.

Zoro's jaw dropped. For the first time in his entire life, Nami, the very image of what he imagined the devil on earth to be, was being nice to him for a change.

"What the hell?" He thought. "Why is the witch being and angel all of a sudden... Unless... Is this because I'm on her side with the Luffy incident?"

Zoro eyed Nami who just smiled nicely at him. He grinned.

"Eh. It's no big deal." He responded and went back to sleep with a grin on his face.

"If I continue to play on their side. My debt with Nami might disappear. I love being on the winning side!" He thought.

Nami turned her attention back to the two at hand... who soon came to as they scrambled to their feet and started begging on their knees.

"Please-don't-kill-us Please-don't-kill-us Please-don't-kill-us Please-don't-kill-us..." They repeated in synchronization.

"Oh, grow a pair guys. I didn't come out here just to hurt you." Nami said still slightly ticked. "I just wanted to talk."

Usopp collapsed onto Chopper in relief.

"We get to live another day Chopper." Usopp whispered happily.

"Look..." Nami said solemnly. "I just wanted to ask how you guys were feeling since yesterday. You both passed out so..." Her voice drifted away.

Usopp and Chopper sat up and both looked at each other with pursed lips. Then back at Nami.

"I mean... Well..." Usopp stuttered. "Look Nami, the last thing I want to do is make you sad, but this is still a little too much to get used to at the moment... W... We've known Luffy for years and this just feels so... out of character for him."

"Y...yeah..." Chopper commented. "It's really hard to imagine you and Luffy are in a relationship, I... I mean, that would mean the two of you have had sexual int-"

"NOOOOOOOOPE!" Usopp yelled grabbing Chopper and high-tailing it to the boys dorm.

Nami glared at their retreating smoke lines.

"You guys are still so childish" she muttered angrily.

"Don't worry about them." Zoro commented from the corner. "They'll get over it eventually."

"Oh I'll make sure they eventually get over it." Nami said angrily. "Anyway. Where's Luffy, I need to talk to him."

"He went to bed in the Gao Cannon chamber late last night. He's probably still in there... You should leave him be."

"Like hell, I really need to talk to him." Nami said walking away.

Zoro sprung up from his resting state quite fast. "Nami! Wait!" He yelled grabbing her wrist.

"What's your problem?"

"I told you to just leave him be. Listen to me."

Nami grew ticked and shook his arm off. "Who the hell gave you the right to tell me what do?"

"For god's sake Nami don't you understand? The crews tensions are still tighter than a wire. If Sanji sees you with Luffy right now I'm sure he'll lose it. I'm insisting that you to just stay away from the captain just for today."

Nami grit her teeth. It wasn't fair. None of it was fair. Why was someone else's wrongdoing her burden?

"Fuck... Fine. At least tell me where Sanji is so I can speak with him."

Zoro looked out to the giant rocky reef behind him. "Out there. I saw him go off into the reef this morning. I would say he's blowing off some steam considering I've heard rocks smashing in the distance the entire morning."

"What about food?" Nami asked concerned. "Is he seriously not going to make anything for us the whole day?"

"Relax. He may be an sociopathic wannabe casanova. But he's still a chef and wouldn't let anyone starve. He left a bunch of sandwiches and left them in the kitchen before he went out, however, I wouldn't plan on him coming back to the ship until much later today."

"Wait a second... If Sanji's not coming back for a while then why did you tell me to avoid Luffy?"

Zoro motioned his one good eye to the side of him. "Good question. That's because ever since you've smacked Usopp and Chopper... I've sensed that he's watching us from close by."

X X X X

Just a few minutes ago

CRACK!

Sanji kicked a boulder over 5 times his height into pieces that splashed into the ocean.

"Dammit..." Sanji said catching his breath. "No matter how many damn rocks I smash to dust... I'm still pissed as hell... Dammit!" 'CRACK!'.

He smashed another one into tiny pebbles. This time with his devil's kick.

"Why the hell did this have to happen?! I stayed on an island full of faggots for two years for that shitty rubber captain and he pays me back by stealing the woman I love. Like hell I'll accept that!" 'BAM-BAM-BAM!'

Three in a row were reduced to rubble in an instant by his in-human leg strength. Still no satisfaction from it.

"That stupid rubber captain is an idiot with the strength of a God. If I let them stay together, he will no doubt hurt her. I will never let that happen!" 'SMASH'

Yet another pile of stony rubble fell into the ocean and Sanji finally stopped to catch a breath.

Sanji collapsed onto the stub onto one half-demolished rock feeling defeated. He stared off into the water infront of him, looking at his reflection. The sight brought back memories of the time he still worked at the Baratie. There were countless times he would stand on the outside deck of that restaurant dreaming of the All-Blue. What would it look like? What color would the water be? Was it in an underground cave? Were there fish never seen by man there? Mermaids? These question ran through his mind every time he looked into the sea back in those days. He probably would of stood there all day if Chef Zeff didn't shout at him to get his ass back into the kitchen every 5 minutes. These unexpected memories finally provided some sort of relief from his rage

"I wonder how that stubborn old geezer is doing." Sanji asked himself. "He probably is at least happy he doesn't have to kick me all throughout that restaurant anymore."

Just then, Sanji heard a yell he could easily identify as Nami's. He didn't even hesitate to skywalk as fast as he could back to the ship.

"Shit! Nami's awake? I should've never taken down my observation haki... What's happened?!"

Sanji's senses could see that Nami's aura was perfectly fine. But that didn't stop him from flying forward to get a better read on the details. There was no way he was taking chances.

Sanji came within several hundred feet of the ship before finally stopping on a ledge behind a large rock where he could finally get a good read on everyone. He could've just gone directly to the ship, but he didn't want to risk seeing Luffy again... He just might lose it.

Nami wasn't hurt at all, but Sanji could see Usopp and Chopper in pain and running away from her. He immediately knew what happened and smiled to himself.

"Nami-Swan is so cute when she's angry." He thought blushing.

Sanji's immediately snapped his haki's attention to find Luffy, who he found sleeping in the Gao Cannon cockpit below the bow.

But just then, he saw Nami quickly walking towards the direction Luffy was. He wasn't going to sit by and let that happen. He was just about ready to jump out, but she was stopped by someone he overlooked, the mossy swordsman himself.

"What's this...? You're the last person I would expect to stop Nami... What's your play mosshead?"

X X X X

Zoro's one good eye stayed cocked to the side looking out to the sea with his peripherals. Nami started to look around aimlessly into the reef.

"Don't." Zoro said in a low voice. "If you do that too much he'll know we're on to him."

"So what if he knows?" Nami said in a louder tone. "What's he going to do? Destroy the ship?"

"I don't know what he'll do... and that's what alarms me."

Nami grit her teeth hard. "Why does he have to act this way... It's beyond childish, it downright stupid. Why the hell does this mean so much to him?! Why?!"

Zoro looked back at her. "This is only an assumption... But it's probably the reason. Do you remember when the cook first joined us?"

"Of course I do vegetable head."

That remark kinda ticked Zoro. But he brushed it to the side.

"His main, if not only reason, for joining us was because you were on the crew. Now that you are taken after he's known you all this time, he's full of unstable anger."

Nami's eyes widened. She was beginning to understand.

Zoro continued.

"Think about it. Before he joined us, he was on that crappy restaurant ship in the middle of an ocean for what I would assume to be his whole childhood and teenage life. The pervert probably saw many women but never got know one for any more than several hours before he joined us. He's known you for over two years. I know you think he's a wannabe Casanova and willing to take any young girl. But the truth is he has probably fallen for you... That's why I think he's acting this way."

Nami expression turned emotionless and draught. Sanji... falling for a woman... That would be the last thing she would expect to have happen in her life. She didn't want to believe she was involved in a love triangle, but Zoro's explanation made too much sense. The ero-cook was dealing with an extreme case of rejection.

"Even so... Even if you're somehow right..." Nami stuttered. "That doesn't excuse how he acted yesterday."

"You're damn right it doesn't." Zoro said loudly. "That shitty cook tried to kill our captain yesterday and if Luffy didn't interject I would've for damn sure killed him. I don't care what reason he had. He broke the only rule on this ship and I won't ever forgive him until he apologizes to Luffy directly."

Silence followed. Zoro was personally getting tired of all this shitty small talk.

"Look, just go to the library for now. I know it's not fair, but just deal with it for now."

Nami didn't want to go anywhere. Her mind was in such utter confusion that she had no clue what she even wanted to do anymore. She felt completely lost in the blankness of her mind.

"Nami..?"

"Yeah... I know... Library right?"

Nami dragged her pathetic self to the library to hopefully clear her head.

Zoro could hear the library door close in the distance of the ship. He turned his attention directly behind him... He could sense Sanji was still there.

"Looks like you need to take a hint ero-cook...SLASH"

Zoro stood up and sliced the rock behind him with a speed comparable to that of sound. The slice went cleanly through the rock... only inches above the cook's head.

Sanji jumped up angry as hell.

"What the hell's your problem Zoro?! Are you trying to kill me!?"

"Oh, it's you eyebrows!" Zoro exclaimed acting surprised. "I'm sorry, I thought you were a marine spy. What are you doing spying on our own ship? That's a little weird, even for you."

"Oh shut up mosshead! No one asked you!" Sanji yelled back.

X X X X

For most of the rest of the day, Nami camped out in the library with Robin who read at the opposite corner. For the first several hours, she tried to fall back asleep so she could rest on the matter... and so the time could pass quicker. However, she had already gotten over 11 hours of sleep the night before. Getting any more sleep was an impossibility for her. The best could do was teeter on the edge of the dreamworld and and the real world.

"Hey. Nami-san." A voice said that she immediately recognized as Robin's. She lifted her arm she kept laying over her eyes and looked at her friend.

"You haven't eaten anything all day and it's nearly dinner. Do you want to come with me and get something?"

Nami smiled. "Na. I haven't really felt hungry at all today. I mean, if I ever feel hungry, I always got my mikan trees right outside."

Robin smiled back. "You know you don't have to sleep the whole day away. Isn't there anything you would like to do instead?"

Nami's mind flashed a picture of Luffy for a second. "Not really. I already mapped out this reef on the first day we got here so I don't have anything else to draw... I'm kind of excited to leave this reef tomorrow. Then I'll finally be able to have some maps to draw."

"That may be... but there's a lot more to do than drawing maps on the Sunny."

"...You're right, but this is a day that I just want to pass over me, and sleeping seems to be the best way of making that happen... heh... you know, if I didn't value my pride so much, I just might ask Zoro how he does it."

Robin let out a genuine laugh. "Yes he's quite the master on sloth isn't he...? Well, I won't force you to do anything. I'm going to go to the kitchen. You want me to grow one of my ears here just in case you change your mind?"

Nami shook her head. "Thanks for the offer. I'll be fine Robin, trust me."

Robin gave her a nod and left quietly while Nami resumed her half sleeping on the small bench.

X X X X

Meanwhile, below deck

"Brook! Put those down! They're not toys!" Franky shouted.

"Yohohohohohoho!" Brook cackled. "Ahh! Look at me Franky-san! I've got wrenches in my eyes... Ah but I-"

"Give them back before I pound you into dust!"

Brook completely froze and fell to his knees in sadness. The wrenches fell out and clattered onto the floor."

"Franky-san... You just interrupted my joke... Please don't ever do that again..."

"Yeah well don't steal my stuff you dumb pile of bones." Franky retorted picking his tools up.

"I'm sorry. But what am I supposed to do? Everyone is so quiet and serious today. This ship is even more somber and boring than the one I spent 50 years on. Why is everyone like this? It's just a relationship. It's not like it's anything new or shocking in the world."

Franky looked at Brook with a shocked expression.

"Wow... For once in your life, you actually said something wise."

"Well... I have lived for 130 years after all. Yohohohoho!"

It was at this moment that the two of them heard footsteps coming down the stairs. They both panicked for a second before they saw Robin appear out of the corner.

"Thank god." Franky sighed. "I was worried you might be Nami or Sanji. Is anyone else with you?"

"Nope, just me." Robin replied. "Did you finish it?"

Franky grinned. "You suuuuuper bet I did! Check it out."

Franky opened up walked to the back to hatch 6 and pulled out Nami's waver. Except it was much different now. It was outfitted with improved engines, a new handle system, a fresh wooden primer, and even a small golden trim around the edge of the base.

"Yohohohoho. It's quite a beauty."

Franky smiled his work as he gave the waver a quick rev. "Smooth like butter... You think she'll like it?"

Robin smiled and laughed. "Fufufufu. Of course I do. In fact, I think she might even like it a little too much. Thanks for working on it Franky."

"Hey. Don't mention it. If I have nothing to work on I get supeeerrrr bored. Besides, she deserves something a little nice after what happened yesterday. Should we show it to her now?"

Robin's smile faded.

"I'm afraid it's not the best time right now." She replied. "I tried to coax her to come out of the library... but she wouldn't budge."

Franky shrugged his shoulders. "Fine with me, but she better appreciate it when she sees it. I just used all the gold I had just to make that edge around the boat and a lot of my engine parts."

"If I could interrupt..." Brook interjected. "But may I ask if Sanji-san is back Robin-san...? And may I see your p-"

"No and no." Robin said casually. "But he may come back soon. Have any of you seen Luffy?

"Of course." Franky said. "He's up on the head of the Sunny just like last night... It's so weird to see him so solemn."

"It figures he would still be like that..." Robin said processing the information. "Either way, we need to prepare for Sanji coming back to the ship."

They then began to hear silent sobbing. Franky turned around.

"I... I was interrupted again..." Brook said kneeling on the floor in sadness.

"OH GET OVER YOURSELF!" Franky yelled.

X X X X

Sanji didn't come back until about 9:00 that night. His shoes and pant legs were completely tattered and covered in rock dust, but his coat jacket stayed in perfect condition as always. His face had huge traces of fatigue on it and he was also sporting not one, but three cigarettes in his mouth. If one didn't know any better, they would probably think he just fought an entire marine brigade all by himself.

From up in the crows nest, Zoro could see him landing on the railing from outside the nest's window. Usopp was apparently out on deck and had a short exchange of words with him before Sanji parted for his kitchen.

Zoro put down his giant two ton weights and made his way down the ladder. He quickly caught up to Usopp who was walking back to the dormitory.

"Hey... Usopp!" Zoro shouted trying to catch his breath from his long workout. "Hey. What did eyebrows say to you?"

"Hmmm?" Usopp said looking over his shoulder. "Oh, nothing really. He just said he's going to make tomorrow's breakfast and lunch. When I asked why he's doing it now, he just said it's because he didn't want to be disturbed tomorrow."

Zoro stood there for a second without saying anything.

"That's it?"

"Um... Yeah. Then he just went to the kitchen without another word."

Zoro eye wandered around the ship for a second. "Well… Where is everyone?"

"Uh..." Usopp thought. "Well... I know Chopper's asleep in the dorm... And I saw Robin walk back to her dorm about an hour ago..."

The sound of creaking metal drowned out Usopp's voice. They both turned to find Franky and Brook coming up from the lower deck.

"Ah. Usopp-san, Zoro-san!" Brook exclaimed. "Has Sanji-san come back yet?"

"Yeah. He just did." Usopp answered once more. "He's making breakfast and lunch tomorrow because he said he didn't want anyone disturbing him tomorrow."

The two of them stood silently for a few seconds.

"That's it?" They both said simultaneously.

"What the hell is with this Déjà vù?!" Usopp yelled.

They all looked at Usopp for a quick second like he was insane, then back at each other.

"Welp." Franky yawned ignoring Usopp. "If that's all he did when he came back we can assume there's no reason to assume he's going to do anything else. I'm going to get some shut eye. We're all getting up early tomorrow to sail back into the New World so we should get all the rest we can. It may be the last we'll get for a while after all... You two should get some rest as well."

"I was just "going to do that before you three decided to share a brain!" Usopp yelled.

"I have a couple things left to take care of before I hit the sack." Zoro responded. "I already get plenty of sleep throughout the day anyway."

'Click'

Franky raised his machine gun arm and aimed it at Zoro's face. Zoro looked at him unamused.

"You stay away from Sanji!" Franky ordered intimidatingly. "You're only going to make things worse if you do anything else."

"Huh...?" Zoro looked at Franky quizzically. "What the hell got into you? I was just going to finish my workout and talk to Luffy. I'm the last person on this ship that even wants to see that cook's dumb face. Point your fucking gun somewhere else."

Franky maintained hard eye contact with Zoro before he put the gun away.

"Fine..." Franky said. "Sorry for getting so worked up… Just please promise me I can have a peaceful night's rest tonight."

Zoro waited for the three of them to go into the dormitory before he started walking away.

"If I'm not mistaken, that should mean, with the exception of Sanji, that the only other ones that should be awake now should be Luffy and Nami... I should let Luffy know cook's back. I've been working out for two hours already anyway."

X X X X

About a half hour later, in the library

Bad-um, catch... Ba-dum, catch...

Nami absentmindedly threw a ball against the wall in boredom. Her movements seemed to be almost robotic.

"...GYYAH!" Nami yelled throwing the ball away. "This is so stupid! There's nothing to read, nothing to draw, and even though it's past 10:00, I can't sleep! Whyyyyyy?" She whined.

She asked that as if she was wanting an answer. All she got back was the soft creaking of the ship. She slumped back down into her bench sulkingly.

The ship felt so quiet and almost cold to her as she sat there.

"When the crew falls asleep, it almost seems like the Sunny goes to sleep with them..." She told herself with a forced chuckle.

Crew... Asleep...

Nami's eyes widdened and realization hit hard. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it sooner. If the crew was finally asleep, then she could finally talk to Luffy about the whole ordeal yesterday. Screw what Zoro said to her. She had waited long enough and had a right to talk to him…. and since when did he ever have the right to tell her what to do?

She didn't even bother to put on her heels as she opened up the hatch and went down the ladder. The wind outside was soft but chilly. Nami shivered as soon as the cool air hit her, but it was nothing she couldn't handle.

When she finally touched down at the bottom, her heart skipped a beat for a second. The kitchen's lights were on and the sound of frying was faintly audible. Sanji was back.

Nami found herself infuriated. He had the ability to monitor where everyone was on the ship which meant that there was no way past him. She could only hope that he wasn't using haki at the moment…. Oh how she wished she could sock him in the face.

But what Nami didn't know, was that observation haki can't be used for extended periods of time. It seriously tugs at your stamina and, with Sanji being as tired as he is, using any form of haki at the moment would be torture for him.

X X X X

In the kitchen currently,

"Come on Sanji... Just one more batch of soup." He told himself in the kitchen drearily. "Then you won't be disturbed at all tomorrow."

X X X X

Back outside, Nami tip toed past the kitchen at a fast pace. She didn't hear any reaction coming from the kitchen, so she continued at a fast pace.

The rest of the trek was easy. The Sunny was barren and quiet. The only other soul she saw was Zoro's at his usual place in the corner sleeping. Nami gave a subtle middle finger to him as she slowly went up to the bow.

She could see Luffy was sitting on the head again. How he wasn't bored or freezing was beyond her. His normal persona was to get bored if an activity went over half an hour. It was crazy to see her captain so calm... Still, it felt so refreshing to see him again.

"Hey Luf-"

"Hi Nami" he interrupted.

Nami pinched her her lips. "You shut out my greeting."

Luffy looked behind. "Oh... I'm sorry Nami. I didn't mean to interrupt you."

Luffy then snapped his head back around to the vast ocean. Nami gave his back a puzzled look. He answered her in really jittery way and wasn't maintaining eye contact with her.

"What's going on with you?" She asked.

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is why you can't make eye contact with me or talk face to face."

"Well... I mean... This is just such an amazing view of the New World! It make me excited to think of all the adventures to be had out there!"

Nami stared at Luffy's back before lowering her head and slightly chuckling.

"You always were bad lying, huh Luffy?"

Luffy slowly yawned. A frown formed on his face.

"...I guess I just can't help it." he said in an almost sad voice.

Luffy spun his body around rather aggressively to face Nami, however, he still was looking at her feet.

"Listen... I've been thinking a lot and… There's something I need to tell you."

"I came here for that as well." Nami interupted. "Look, I know it's still tense between you and Sanji, but in order to get him to come back to our side. We will both need to talk to him tomorrow and get this sorted out."

Luffy was silent. "Nami... I don't think he'll listen to us."

Nami felt insulted. "Eh? What the hell is it with you and Zoro seeing the glass half empty? We don't have any more options and you can't keep things like this between you two. We leave tomorrow to go through emperor territory for crying out loud!"

"Actually... There is another option..." Luffy said still a little quietly.

"...What? What'll work better than that? And why haven't you told me earlier?"

"Sorry Nami, it just took a lot of thinking... But now, I'm certain I can resolve everything.

"Is that so...? Well I'm waiting. Tell me how your plan is the fix-all."

Luffy's hands winced for a second.

"Look... Nami..."

Nami looked at him puzzled. "What? What is it?"

She looked at Luffy for what felt like a while. No sound came from him. He wasn't moving in the slightest. Nami began to think he fell asleep on her. It wouldn't be a first.

"Earth to Luffy…" she called walking towards him

"I don't think we should see each other anymore." Luffy suddenly blurted out.

Nami's stride stopped on the dime. At that moment, time had ceased motion and the wind stopped blowing. Nami's heart felt like it fell from a cliff, but she didn't show any signs of suprise. She was certain she had misunderstood him.

"Y...you mean we shouldn't talk to each other for only a couple days so Sanji can cool off, right? I mean... Th... That is a pretty good idea. He is pretty angry and you just want to see him calm down... Right...?"

Luffy just sat there silently. He didn't reply with a single word. It was like he didn't hear her. Nami tried again.

"Or…. or do you mean that… we should not be around Sanji when he's around...? That might be hard since he's part of the crew…. but we can make it work…." She said with a much shakier and desperate voice voice.

Luffy still said nothing. Nami was loosing her grip on reason.

"Or… or do you… do you mea-"

"Please." Luffy interupted painfully. "Please…. Just stop…"

The truth of the situation Nami had been desperately fighting back finally hit the surface.

"No…. No… Nonononono….." she told herself desperately grasping her head. "This…. Why...?"

Nami snapped. She marched right up to Luffy and grabbed his collar.

"WHY ARE YOU SAYING THINGS LIKE THIS?" She screamed to his face. "WHAT'S HAPPENED TO YOU...? TELL ME!"

Luffy said still said nothing. The girl's knees buckled and she fell down into a sobbing mess. She felt like she had just lost all her strength.

But it was then when Luffy finally responded.

"It's because... you're all my nakama."

Nami's face looked back up at him.

"Wh.. Wha…"

"You're all the last family I have left." Luffy explained. "And if I'll do anything to keep us all together, I care about you... but because of us, our nakama have tried to kill each other, Sanji has committed a mutiny, and I…"

Luffy's voice stopped for a minute. His words were becoming noticeably thin. He turned his body around.

"Nami, I'm really sorry, but... I care about the rest of the crew more than I care about you."

Nami was lost. In all her life she had never heard Luffy say the slightest thing hurtful to her and he was completely shutting her out.

She continued to stare at his motionless figure. He looked as if he was drifting further away with every passing second. Nami finally stood up.

"I told you to quit lying to me." Nami said in an very teary and angry voice while leaving. "You never cared about me, did you?"

A sudden angry and deliberate burst of conqueror's haki stopped Nami in her tracks. Her blood froze at its ferocity, but just as quickly as it came, it was gone.

"Dammit Nami..." Luffy said behind her. "I thought I told you I hated crying."

Nami turned around. Luffy's face was no longer hidden from her. He looked up at her with a very teary, but displeased face.

"Nami, I spent two days trying to find a way to find an alternative way to resolve this because I never wanted this. I'm breaking that pinwheel hat's guy's promise of making you cry... but when Ace died, the only reason I kept on living was because you were all waiting on me... I can't play favorites here. I love every one of my nakama and I just want to laugh with everyone at the same table again, but this is the only way to truly make that happen."

Nami wanted to get angry and tell him how wrong he was again, but she didn't. She wanted to get up and hug him, but she couldn't. The two of them simply stood there maintaining eye contact. It would seem like awkward silence from a third person's view point, but to them, it felt normal. They just communicated with their eyes for a few moments.

"You should go Nami." Luffy finally said. "Sanji will probably be out of the kitchen at any moment. I don't want to put you through another situation like last night... I'm sorry I made you do that."

"But... Luffy..."

Nami didn't finish. Luffy stretched out his arm around her and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Don't ever think that I don't care." Luffy whispered into her ear.

Nami felt a loud pang in her heart as Luffy held her tight in his arms, but just as she felt it, Luffy let go of her abruptly.

"Now go before Sanji sees us." Luffy ordered. "I don't want him to get upset anymore."

Leaving his side was the last thing Nami wanted to do, but his words about Sanji getting upset played the scene from last night in her head. The cook's foot smashing into Luffy's head made her cringe. The image was enough to make her turn and leave.

Nami went down the steps slowly. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Luffy was right. This was something wouldn't fade with time in regards to Sanji. The only way for everyone to be on the same side again was for she and Luffy to separate...

However...

That hug that Luffy gave her. She still felt warm from it. That was something she couldn't find herself ever wanting to leave behind. She wanted with all her heart to hold on to that feeling for forever.

Nami halted on the deck outside of her dorm for a second.

What could she do? Sanji and the rest of the crew needed to be kept together. The bottom line was they were all family and mattered most. It would be selfish of her to choose Luffy over them...

But...

As she started to think about it more, Nami started realized what she and Luffy were doing wasn't wrong at all. They just loved each other, and that was the most natural human thing in this crazy world. It was unfair to think that it was seen as wrong.

The more Nami thought about what happened over the past 24 hours, the more she realized the full scope of the scenario. Rage was building up inside of her. The way everyone had been going about it was wrong.

Nami's mind snapped back into focus. She now had complete control over her thoughts and actions and her mind wasn't wavering anymore. She walked straight down the steps, across the grassy deck, and straight up to the kitchen.

She burst through the door with force. For a second, Sanji looked like a walking zombie from his sleepiness, but when he saw Nami burst through. His face discarded all the traces of his fatigue.

"Oi. Nami-swan!" He yelled cheerfully. "Do you need something? I'll get it for you, whatever it is!"

Nami continued to walk towards him with her head tilted slightly down. As she got closer, Sanji noticed something on her cheek.

"Oi! Were you crying?!" Sanji yelled angrily. "What did that rubber bastard do!? I swear I'll-"

'SMACK!'

Nami slapped cook across his face with all her might, his cigarette went flying across the kitchen. He himself almost fell back from the sheer force of her hand.

Sanji fixed his face back towards her. His cheek felt like a thousand flaming needles.

"What the h-"

He couldn't finish. Nami grasped the collar of his suit under her fist and brought his face closer to her. She finally looked up at him with her face full of tears, anger, and depression.

"IS ALL THIS REALLY WORTH IT?!" She yelled.

Sanji's face froze. He had never seen Nami look so sad and miserable in his life.

"Sanji! You want to kill our captain, you want to leave the crew, you want to keep me and Luffy away from each other. Why?! What in the world is your reason for all this?!"

Sanji was having trouble thinking of words to say. The torn face of his beloved Nami felt like it was eating his heart away.

"N... Nami." He started. "I... I don't... It's... just Luffy has so much power and... I'm afraid he'll hurt you."

"Hurt me huh?" Nami asked rhetorically. She thought that was so painfully ironic. "Well I guess I can spare you some of that anxiety since Luffy broke up with me."

That was the last thing Sanji had expected Nami to say.

"Wh... What did you say?"

Nami smiled sadly and sarcastically and nodded her head. "Yep... Don't you realize it...? Despite everything you've done to him, despite trying to kill Zoro, he still cares about you just as much as everyone else in the crew, including me. You're still his nakama no matter what. Does that even mean anything to you?"

Nami started to lose her control on her tears. She buried her face in her hands. Not knowing what to do, Sanji tried to reach his hand out towards her.

"N... Nami-swan..."

Nami backed away and just shook her head at him. "No... Just don't."

She couldn't stand it anymore. The navigator quickly stormed out of the kitchen. It didn't matter. She had already said everything on her mind.

Sanji looked as Nami ran out of the kitchen in utter sadness. He looked at his outstretched arm and slowly sank down onto the floor with a complete loss of words. Nami's face of hurt and anger kept playing on repeat in his mind along with her words.

"Luffy broke up with me."

"You're still his nakama no matter what."

"Does that mean anything to you."

They echoed loudly from deep within his head. It was torture to listen to and it wouldn't go away. He felt like his heart was getting eaten up by it.

Luffy, who he kicked his face into next week, somehow didn't carry any resentment or anger at him for it. He acts like it never happened. On any other pirate ship, he would've been killed for that kind of insubordination, but Luffy did the exact opposite.

"...Dammit..." He told himself with his head down.

X X X X

Luffy tried his best to not think about it. He was sure Nami would get over it eventually, but the way she looked at him when he broke his resolve to her and her desperation wasn't something he anticipated. It really hurt inside to think about.

He looked out upon the ocean of the New World. It looked so peaceful and calm, although he knew that it was the furthest thing from. Pirates and marines alike here get killed every day in a never ending battle, but that was something he knew all too well. He was prepared to face that and rise to the top.

He began to think about his crew. They were irreplaceable, and Luffy could never sail without them. He didn't know if he would ever find out if he made the right choice, but he knew he knew that his choice would keep his crew together, and that was what was most important.

His eyes began to drift downward. He observed each of the small waves splashing against the hull of the Sunny. Luffy started to become aware of the ship's rocking. Which surprisingly, was quite loud, he wondered why he never heard it over the past many hours he sat there.

'FWUMP'

The noise behind Luffy startled him. Someone came up behind him without him realizing it. He bounced up and spun around in a fighting chance expecting to fight a ninja of some sorts…

But all that was behind him was Sanji… on his hands and knees… bowing.

Luffy was greatly shocked. "EH? SANJI?!... What are…"

"I don't want to be anyone's burden. You hear me?" Sanji declared.

Luffy was speechless, he had never seen Sanji have this kind of a humility before. It greatly confused him.

"Sanji…?"

Sanji seemed to be having trouble talking, Luffy could see his arms were starting to shake. He could even hear the gritting of Sanji's teeth from where he was.

"G….. God dammit Luffy I'm sorry!" Sanji shouted.

That was a word Sanji had never told Luffy before in his entire life. Over the years, he would pound him into dust countless times for trying to sneak food or even something as trivial as looking dumb. He never apologized for anything he did. Now he was on his knees begging for forgiveness.

"Sanji, W...what happened?" Luffy asked.

"I saw Nami's face… She's in so much pain... and I'm the one who caused it. I could never live with myself if I let her be like that."

"What are you trying to say?"

The words Sanji was about to say we're already hurting him inside, but for some strange reason, he found himself smiling. He looked up at Luffy.

"I support you and Nami, captain."

His heart jumped. Luffy was initially shocked, but he quickly replaced it with the biggest, goofiest grin that everyone loves. He felt like he had finally taken his first breath of fresh air after all this time.

He threw his hands up in the air.

"YEHAHAHAHAHA!" He laughed.

Luffy was finally back to his old self laughing and acting like a moron. It may not be a typical pirate captains behavior, but Luffy any other way wouldn't feel right.

Sanji got up to leave Luffy with his celebration, but as he was about to descend down the steps, he felt Luffy grab his arm and, before he knew it, he was being dragged across the ship by his captain.

"We got to tell Nami, let's go!"

"Dammit Luffy! I can walk on my own you know!"

X X X X

Nami was curled up into a ball in Robin's reading chair in the library. She layed motionless, trying to put herself at ease.

She didn't know whether or not to regret what she said to Sanji. She said exactly what needed to be said, but she might of just made the situation within the crew even worse. She didn't know what was right or wrong anymore, and that thought was giving her so much anxiety.

Nami began to hear a weird noise outside, she cocked her hear up from behind the armrest and looked out the window. Almost immediately after, Luffy burst through the window right in front of her. It scared her half to death.

Luffy planted his foot into the floor and pounced at Nami. Pulling her into the biggest bear hug before she could have a chance to react.

"Luffy! What is going on?!" She asked frantically.

"Everything is fine Nami!" Luffy yelled. "Everything's going to be alright now!"

"What do you mean by that?! Luffy?! Lu-"

Nami's peripherals picked up on someone else in the room. Sanji stood by the window.

"Luffy! Sanji's here! Stop it right now."

Luffy released her from his grasp, but he was still grinning from ear to ear at her. She looked at Luffy, then back at Sanji. She was so confused.

"Everything's fine Nami. Don't worry about it any longer" Luffy answered.

"You keep saying that! What do you mean?" Nami demanded.

"Nami-swan." Sanji spoke up. Her eyes averted to him. "I'm sorry."

Nami's eyes widened. She could see Sanji didn't have any more spite in his eyes.

"Sanji…."

"I would never be able to live with myself knowing I caused you this much pain." Sanji continued. "I have no right to tell you how to live your life... I want to you to do what makes you happiest in this world."

Nami switched her gaze to Luffy, then back to Sanji, then Luffy again. Luffy just grinned at her. She started to tear up. Nami wrapped her arms around Luffy in complete joy, burying her head into his shoulder. Luffy was hers again, and this time it was for good.

Nami lifted her head up slightly, that was when she saw Sanji leaving the library out of the corner of her eye. Reluctantly, she parted contact with Luffy.

"Hey… Sanji." She called out getting up from the chair.

Sanji sighed. He turned around with his head down expecting Nami to slap him silly again, but instead, he felt thin arms wrap around his torso and orange hair block his vision. His eyes were wide and locked in place.

"N… Nam-"

Nami placed her finger on the cooks lips and broke away.

"Don't say anything…" she said smiling up at him. "Thank you."

And with that, she gave him a kiss on the cheek she slapped.

The sensation immediately made Sanji see stars. The flames of a thousand suns ignited within his body and he fell from the plane of reality. He found himself on cloud nine engulfed in a sea of passion and romance.

In real time, Sanji was staring off into nowhere with hearts in his eyes.

"Hey. Sanji!" Nami said trying to snap him out of his daze.

Sanji immediately heeded to her voice and came back to the real world, although his eyes were still hearts.

"Yes! What is it dearest Nami-swan? I'll do anything you wish of me."

"Good." Nami said grinning. "I want you to get some rest for tonight, but tomorrow, I want you to wake up early and make sure you count our food levels before we depart. Make sure we have enough to get to Bakardo in five days… Do I make myself clear?"

"Of course Nami-Swan! Your wish is my command!" The love-struck cook declared. He twirled to the window and hopped out onto the back deck. Nami watched him off until he disappeared beneath deck.

Luffy was standing and watching a couple feet behind Nami. He laughed.

"Shishishi. You really got him back on our side didn't you?" Luffy said with a smile.

Nami stood up straight and put on a sly smile herself. "Yes. I told you I'm good with persuading."

Nami turned around and started walking toward Luffy with her head down.

"You know Luffy, you really hurt me by saying we couldn't be together anymore. That can really damage a woman's heart you know?"

Luffy got wide eyes for a second. "Oh. Shit. I'm so sorry Nami, I never meant to hurt you, I swear! But we're back together now and everything's-"

Nami got to within reach of Luffy, she held up her hand and pushed him back into a bench against the wall. Nami grabbed the edges of her shirt and pulled it over her head.

"I think it's past the point of apologies captain." She said seductively. "I think that you need to be punished for what you did."

Luffy grabbed the wood on the bench white knuckled. "Nami…. are you okay…?"

Nami stopped her walk and looked up at him. A devilish grin spread across her face.

"I've never been better captain." She said before she pounced on him.

X X X X

The captain and navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates set sail the next day back into the reality and terror that is the New World, they didn't know what lay ahead of them on this journey, but they knew that wherever it was that they would go, they would do it together... until the bitter end.

- The End -

A/N: So that's the story of After Dark. Please feel free to leave a review and let me know what you thought of it. This is my very first fanfiction and certaintly not my last so I would very much appreciate feedback.

A lot of you probably want an explanation why it took almost half a year to finish this story. The reason for that is because I had a summer job and have been in over my head with college applications and visits. Granted, I still did have a bunch of free time and could've chosen to work on this, but I just chose to do other things like watch Fairy Tail or play Destiny. For that, you have my most sincerest apologies.

If you would like any details of my next fanfiction I'm going to write, I have been jotting down ideas for this One Piece/Bleach crossover story. I don't want to spoil too much but this story, if I chose to do it, will focus heavily on Zoro. I know some of you probably don't even like/watch bleach and are only here for the lemon stories, and I perfectly understand that. For you guys, I do have half a mind to make a sequel of After Dark, but I would really like to come up with something fresh at the moment. If you guys have any ideas, I would love to hear them.

Stay awesome everyone.

-3Nations