Later that night, he stayed to beat up Sanji.

Well, the term "beating up" might be a little exagerating on Zoro's part. Basically, he and the blonde man exchanged a few harmless swats until both felt satisfied with today's worth of work-out. Then the chef of Baratie's decided to play nice and went to fix some drinks for their exclusive party of four, leaving Zoro sitting in front of his laptop staring at Usopp's gaping mouth.

"Seriously dude?! She ditched you before you even had a chance to get rid of her? Here I thought I was the unattractive one of us four!" Usopp could barely hide the schadenfreude in his voice.

Zoro wanted to punch his long nose in. Too bad Usopp's nose was in Sanji's computer screen, mocking him through skype. The paranoid kid literally couldn't step out of his own apartment without wetting his pants. According to him every 15 minutes someone died in a car accident, apparently. The world was a dangerous place to live in.

"Maybe there wasn't enough food for her and she got upset, shishishi." Luffy piped in. The black-haired youngster was sitting on the counter-top cross-legged, straw flip-flops hanging merely by his big toes. Sanji walked in and managed to smack him over the head with his other hand holding three drinks perfectly in place, not a single spill.

"There's no such thing as not enough food in my kitchen!" The chef declared.

"And how many times do I have to tell you to get off my counter top,you shithead! That's unsanitary! Here,take your damn milk!" He thrust the glass into Luffy's hand. The latter gave a careless shrug and started gulping down the warm liquid hungrily.

"Alright, sake for Marimo, rosé Champagne for me." the blonde man set the drinks down next to his laptop and flashed a cheeky grin towards the screen, "and you, Mr. Long-nose, you help yourself."

"Thanks bro. I'm fine over here drinking my triple filtered water." Usopp said timidly,raising the glass in his hand for the group to see.

And these are my best friends. Zoro sighed inwardly.

Every week or two the foursome would meet up in Sanji's restaurant after business hours (with the virtual presence of Usopp of course) to enjoy some "bro-time" together.

But tonight Zoro was certainly not in the best "bro" mood.

"The. Food. Was. Poisoned." He reiterated through gritted teeth.

"Oh come on, are you still mad? That was just a practical joke." Sanji patted him over the shoulder and laughed.

"You poisoned her too, you know."Zoro glared at the blonde man, "Her father is rich. You might've gotten yourself a lawsuit, you dumb cook."

"You are joking, right?" Sanji returned his glare with a genuinely surprised look on his face."It was busy tonight so I didn't get a chance to take a good look at your date, but there's no way she's rich. She was wearing a 20 dollar dress."

"What are you talking about?" Zoro was profoundly confused. Why does it have anything to do with anything? He felt that sometimes Sanji spoke in a language he couldn't understand." Nefeltari Vivi isn't rich?"

"No, I meant she isn't Nefeltari Vivi, you moron."

"Hang on, people!" Usopp's voice came through the screen and then a picture of a blue-haired beauty with a coy smile on her face popped out. "Did she look like this, Zoro?" He asked.

A long moment passed while no one spoke, all eyes on Zoro. Feeling the awkwardness starting to accumulate in the air, Zoro began to scratch the back of his head."Uh..."

"Uh" was all he'd got.

"You are hopeless." Sanji concluded.

"Yup, that's what I was afraid of. Zoro can't tell the differences between girls."Usopp seconded.

"Zoro is face-blind shishishishi!" Luffy burst into a fit of laughter clapping his feet together like a child, which earned a kick to the side from Sanji. "You are the one to talk!"

The black-haired kid rolled off the counter top still laughing hysterically. Seconds later his laughter ceased, he was already sprawling on the kitchen floor snoring up a storm.

"Well,I guess the warm milk's finally kicked in." Sanji scrubbed a hand over his face and turned to look at Zoro,his voice taking on a more serious note. "What're you gonna do, Marimo? Now that you know she's an imposter."

Zoro didn't have an answer for that. He took a small sip from his wine glass, letting the pungent liquid slowly warm its way down his throat. He had no idea as to what to think of the situation, let alone what to do.

But there was one thing he knew for sure:

That imposter-he wanted to find her.

Urgh! So much for fancy restaurants.

Nami thought indignantly as she flushed the toilet of her bathroom, repeatedly.

Tonight was undoubtedly the most embarrassing dining experience she'd ever had in her life! She couldn't believe she'd had to flee the restaurant and run all the way home in heals, only to "get her business taken care of"!

Luckily she'd made it just in time, minus a trivial projectile-vomiting accident down the light post in front of her apartment. Twenty minutes and a roll of toilet paper later, she was all clear and spent, feeling utterly embarrassed and yet oddly content at the same time.

Her embarrassment triumphed over content when Nojiko knocked on the bathroom door. "Nami! You've been in there forever, are you okay?"

Nami gave a sniff and decided she didn't like how the aftermath of her dinner smelled like. She reached over the sink and grabbed a can of air refreshener. After giving the room a thorough spray over, she finally had the courage to open the door.

Her sister Nojiko regarded her with a smirk on her face. "I heard you throw up. You are not pregnant, are you?"

Nami's face flushed red." Of course I'm not! What's wrong with you?!" after giving Nojiko a once-over she asked again. "Seriously, what is wrong with you, sis?" This time her voice was not angry but filled with concern.

"Oh you mean this?" Nojiko did a twirl in front of her. She was wearing a silver-colored sequin dress that barely covered anything important,her long legs encased in velvet boots.

She winked at Nami, false eyelashes fluttering like a butterfly's wings."Work."

Nami sighed inwardly. She knew she probably shouldn't ask but she couldn't help it. "What kind of work?"

"I never ask you how you got your money; I expect the same from you, sis." Nojiko said.

"My work doesn't require me dressing like a prostitute." The moment the words came out of her mouth Nami saw the sadness in Nojiko's eyes. She instantly regretted saying them.

Whatever Nojiko was doing, she was doing it for the same reason Nami herself was. Nami knew she had no right to judge a daughter's desperate attempt to save her own mother, especially when she herself was in the same place.

"Oh well. By the end of the day we are both in the service business. What makes you so different than me? " Nojiko gave a small laugh. Her tone was light but Nami felt a rock weighing down in her chest.

She wanted to say something else, something nicer to make up for the cruel comment she'd just dropped on her sister, but her phone started ringing loudly and she looked down and saw Vivi's name flashing on the screen.

"Hello, Vivi?" after mouthing a soundless "I'm sorry" to Nojiko, Nami took the call.

Moments later her eyes widened and her face turned a shade darker. "What?! What do you mean he wants a second date?"

Author's Note:

So I finally broke the curse of yearly-updates, yay~!

Anyways, this chap explained why Nami had to leave the date early and I decided to introduce Nojiko just cuz:)

Don't worry tho, she is NOT a prostitute, at least not in my story.

I'm open to suggestions as to which OP character you would like to see in future chapters as side characters. You are welcome to leave a comment to tell me who and what kind of characters you want to see him/her as. Some beloved characters e.g. Chopper, Brook... would be a little difficult to fit into this alternative universe but I'll try my best.

A huge thanks to those who R&R ed. Your support always keeps me going. A shout-out to " a pun guy", your review made me laugh, hard XD

As always R&R would be lovely. Stay alive, pretty people.

Love,

Minami