One Piece 1. Zoro's Liquor

**Disclaimer: **I do not own One Piece or the Disney plot to Aladdin.

**A/N: **_This is part of my Fairy Tale collection series, and the first one involving One Piece! Although this is based off of _Aladdin_ this isn't going to follow the story line to the letter. I like to keep my work original :). That being said. Enjoy~_

**Genie in a Bottle**

**Zoro's Liquor **

"You're late," she snapped shutting the book she had been reverently scribbling in to glare at him.

"You were just too absorbed in writing to notice me. I've been here for 15 minutes," he barked back.

He uncrossed his arms and ventured into the room a bit more. He refused to admit that he spent that duration of time period watching her write. She looked a lot more at ease when she was writing, no scowl would mar her brow, and her eyes always were alight with mirth. It was _different_… to say the least and he always liked seeing her with her guard down, no curses at him, or threats of a debt unpaid, she looked happy and the change in his friend was enough to make him keep his silence and observe her, if only for a short while, to remember her like this when he was fighting with her over something trivial. It kept him from saying something too rash or mean to her, despite how angry she could make him get. His favorite part was watching her finish wording something. She would always sit back with a self-satisfied grin that reminded him of his successes of beating a strong opponent or knowing that he would beat them with ease. He plucked a book off the shelf and fell unceremoniously to the floor next to her feet. He made himself comfortable on the edge of the rug but the hard flooring beneath always made him squirm after a bit. No matter how hard he tried he could never get comfortable in the library.

"You were still late even if you got here 15 minutes ago. I asked you to meet me 20 minutes ago," she said her eyes narrowing.

"Well I'm here now," he shrugged and flipped open the book he had grabbed to a random page. He lightly skimmed the contents. He knew this book like the back of his hand, but it never hurt to go over the basics now and then. Practicing swordplay wasn't all in actual practice sometimes reading and silent reflection was required. She sighed obviously annoyed with him.

"I can't record everything accurately in the log book if I don't have everyone's perspective," she stressed lecturing him. He was surprised she didn't start with 'you stupid lazy swordsman', that phrase normally came free of charge with the said lecture.

"I don't see-"

"It's important to me," she growled interrupting the age-old argument that they had every time she needed to hear his side of the story and he wasn't willing to comply fully. "I like writing down all of our memories. It makes me happy."

"Not everything we go through is happy."

"I never said that. I never said they were happy memories for us to relive. It's just important to me."

He was dangerously close to setting off her infamous temper and he knew it. One more snarky remark and she'd hit him roughly upside the head; demand that he spill all the details for his part of the 'adventure' and then kick him out. He wasn't done reading, that he had this particular book memorized was irrelevant, plus he couldn't stop half way through a task. And the rough patch on the floor was quiet comfortable, he might even be able to nap here after this 'little talk'. Part of the reason he was even considering listening to her was that he hated that he was always kicked out of a room just because she decided it for whatever reason, be it his hair is green or his large and growing debt was stressing her out. He decided to bite his tongue and accept her answer. However stupid and vague it was at the moment wasn't his concern. After a few more moments of thick silence between them he nodded indicating that he was listening to her.

She asked a few questions. Where he was, what had he been doing, who did he fight, how did he get reunited with everyone, it was the same every time. And his answers were almost always uncannily similar to his previous responses. He would wander off, he was distracted, he had been training, he was always fighting some higher up loser in the scheme of things that the crew was involved in, and he randomly stumbled upon somebody and would use their better sense of direction to get back to everyone or better yet he was already back on the ship waiting patiently.

He finally breathed out a sigh of relief as she carefully set her new sheet of information next to the other seven. A few of his answers had been embarrassing but at this point he was past caring. He only stumbled a few times. He watched as she started sorting through some of the sheets that contained all of his friends' side to their latest adventure. She would order them, string together the stories that matched and turn it all into one story about all of them. To him this was a stupid habit of hers. She wasted so much time and energy recording their memories, like one day she would need it to look back on them, like one day they all wouldn't be together. He scoffed and flipped his book open roughly back to the same page he had been on.

"You don't need to stay here if you disprove," she said tersely not looking up from her desk as she scanned her notes.

"I just don't see the point. You record all the major things yet none of the day-to-day stuff. Surely we spend just as much time bonding on a 'boring' day than a full one," he bit out.

She eyed him curiously.

"That's part of the appeal. If anyone were to ever stumble across our log book, they would know about us, they would know our personalities, and they would know we cared for each other. It would be the day-to-day stuff that matters the most to us but they have no idea what really goes on. Every person works differently so it would be left entirely to their imagination."

"So you want to leave what we do in our free time to some random person's imagination?"

"No. The point is they know who we are, and what we did. We are pirates but moral ones."

He snorted at that, not bothering to hide his smirk.

"If you leave out the day-to-day things they would hardly know about our morals aside from our battle tactics. If an enemy raided our ship he would have full and complete access to a lot of personal thin-" realization dawned on him and he let his mouth snap shut on its own. _At least they wouldn't be personal day-to-day things_, his thoughts finished for him.

"You're not such an idiot after all," she cooed before chuckling. "Besides… I like to imagine someone seeing all of our stories compiled together and just… seeing us all of us."

He mulled over her words for a moment before deciding he had no clue what to make of them or their meaning.

"How so?" he finally questioned. He was used to light conversations with Nami after these interviews, sometimes they would just sit in compatible silence, other times he would be kicked out for being too much of a smart ass for her to handle.

"I like writing all of this out…" she was blushing but her face was turned so that he could only barely make out that her ears were turning a slight shade of pink. The room was dark enough to disguise it from anyone else but his sharpened senses were able to catch it. She took a deep breath. "I like writing this entire thing out. Maybe one day I'll write a book based off of our adventures."

"Isn't that what the log book is for?"

"I meant like a fictional book," she quickly moved and bent over the desk. Judging strictly by the tone of her voice she was embarrassed about admitting this to him. "I like to escape into writing. Organizing what we all did, how we did it, it's like training me to write a book one day."

He felt his eye brows raise in mild surprise. It was almost like she liked telling him about this. She was starting to rant now, her posture rigid like she was daring him to speak up or make fun of her for it. He knew she was waiting for him to say something but he was at a loss for words.

"I don't see what you'd write about," he said slowly still unsure if he was wrecking the moment between them. She turned slightly and eyed him before her eyes flashed down to his book. Grinning she tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

"Of course you wouldn't. You just sit there and read boring pieces of literature with straight facts. You couldn't possibly know the joy of reading about characters and wild adventures, far off places, plots, love-"

"I don't need any of that stuff."

"It's just for fun… oh wait you don't know how to do that. You're an unfeeling robot swordsman," she teased. He knew she was teasing but he still couldn't help but be flustered by her words. She had a way of getting under his skin.

Stung a little more than he should have been by her words he growled and stood up.

"Goodnight Nami," he said stiffly and strode out of the room. He was done interacting with her for the night. She was back to navigator mode. She would tease him and mock him and frankly he got sick of it. He had enjoyed the peace for the few moments they lasted. He obviously had made her uncomfortable again for her to pick on him. He didn't even glance over his shoulder and let the door shut loudly behind him.

It wasn't his night for watch but he still didn't want to go to bed yet, the sun had barely set when he had gone to the library and he had been in there for maybe an hour or so. It wasn't late enough, but he didn't exactly crave anyone's company. Usopp and Luffy were playing a round of cards on the lawn, Franky was tinkering with something next to them, Chopper was curled up next to Robin and they were both reading, he growled under his breath at the sight of the books. He knew that those two were logical and they would read straight facts but he had seen them both reading some fictional story before. Right now that irked him. Growling under his breath he made his way to the kitchen.

Sanji was bustling around the kitchen. The dishes from dinner had already been put away but the scent of something delicious hung in the air. There were a few crates lying haphazardly in the corner, part of their spoils from the last island they had visited. Sitting on top were several bottles full of liquor that the islander's had given just for him. Knowing that Sanji wouldn't begrudge him his spoils he ignored the fridge, and made a beeline for the first bottle within in his reach.

"Uhhh… what the hell do you think you are doing?" Sanji snapped his head popping up from over the top of the fridge.

"Uhhh… grabbing a drink," Zoro mocked. His good eye rolled in exasperation as he popped the cork out and took several long gulps. He grabbed another and shoved it quickly into his pocket hoping that the cook didn't notice.

"Put it down you shitty ass swordsman," Sanji growled slamming the fridge door and making his way quickly over to him.

Sanji only reacted this way to something Zoro did when he insulted him directly or if it was something to do with Nami. Seeing as his sarcastic comment wasn't enough to get such a response he had to guess that this was with the later mentioned.

"Don't get your tutu in a twist," he said taking another deep sip.

"Nami-san said to make sure you didn't go through the entire stock in one night," Sanji sniffed ignoring his comment; he gathered the rest of the bottles and placed them gently in the icebox before locking it. He sent Zoro a pointed look and then resumed doing whatever the hell he was doing. Zoro didn't really care.

He still had his book clenched tightly in his hand as he sat down at the table. He was busy being distracted by the pleasant burn of liquor in the pit of his stomach to notice the book, and he was fine with setting it aside as he took another swig from the bottle. His body warmed slightly and a pleasant shiver raced to his spine and numbed him but he didn't feel the distracting buzz that always lured him to sleep. His mind was still clear he flipped open his book again to scan the first few words.

When he glanced at the clock on the wall he inwardly sighed at the time. It was a quarter past three. He must have dozed off because a blanket was draped around his shoulders and a steaming mug was next to his arm. He glanced back to the half empty bottle of liquor next to the mug and frowned. The label was smudged and he couldn't make out what it was. He wasn't one to pass out from only half a bottle of anything. He could handle his liquor. He reached out and absent-mindedly rubbed the label, squinting to read the fine print. The door squealed open and he honestly hoped that it was anyone but _her_ at the moment.

"Hey Zoro," her shrill voice cut through the air like a knife. He winced and placed the bottle back on the table.

"What do you want, witch?" he growled.

He turned to face her at the door, making sure to keep a bored annoyed expression plastered on his face as she frowned at him.

"That isn't a very nice hello," she looked curious about something as she came further into the room. Her tone was already dismissing him even with her hurt sounding words. He had to tread carefully, this was Nami at her craftiest at times like this, and her demeanor said it all.

"Why is that bottle shaking?"

"What are you talking about?"

"The bottle on the table in front of you-"

She was cut off by a loud whistle that emitted from the bottle. Blue smoke began to hiss out and fill the room. The door shut loudly behind Nami who looked scared as she quickly grabbed his arm and hid behind him tugging him several feet away from the now swaying bottle on the table.

"What the hell?"

His question was masked by a loud pop as red sparks shot out of the bottle and the smoke completely blocked his vision. For a split second all he could sense was Nami pressed tightly against his back and the tiny squeak that escaped her. There was a rumbling growl and a shadowy figure erupted out of the glass.

"FREEEEEDDDOOOOMMMMM!"

It was blue, and man like. He stretched his arms over his head and yawned loudly. His body almost completely filled the room before he exhaled, his voice coming out like the roar of a dragon. Nami shrieked loudly in his ear.

"Christ woman. I wish you would shut up," Zoro hissed trying to distance himself from her vice like grip around his chest. Her voice climbed another octave making his head feel like it was splitting open.

"Jumping the gun slightly aren't you master? Your wish is my command," the blue man nodded his head. His piercing black eyes were locked on Nami and Zoro felt the need to step in front of her to block the man's view. Nami's screech suddenly stopped but her grip on his chest tightened. He suddenly wondered why the hell he wasn't wearing a shirt and wondered when he had abandoned it earlier. It was probably before he had gone to see Nami earlier when he had worked out.

"What the hell are you?"

"I'm your genie," he answered simply. "I'll skip the long introduction of my origins and fill you in on the rules."

"Rules, what rules?"

"The rules for your remaining two wishes."

"That's stupid. I don't even want one wish. Get the hell out of here."

"You've already used one."

At this, Zoro felt his brain stop momentarily. It literally stopped working until he felt a tiny fist beat into his back rather roughly a second later. He turned his head slightly to eye her, wincing as she punched him roughly in the face. He could practically hear her screaming at him as her mouth was opened in a silent shout but no words escaped her 'Zoro you BASTARD!' Rubbing his cheek he looked back to the blue man.

His chest was muscular, his shoulders were board. He looked powerful. He had black eyes that held a certain amount of amusement and boredom mixed into his gaze. His cheek bones were sharp, and his black hair swirled oddly on top of his head like an ice cream cone.

"I won't bring back someone from the dead, you can't take back wishes, I can't make people fall in love, you can't wish for more wishes, and I can't kill anybody."

"I didn't mean to make that wish earlier," Zoro snapped as he eyed the blue man. Nami was glaring at both of them but she still made sure to stay behind him. He could sense her uneasiness. The genie looked friendly enough but there was an ominous feeling in the air. He could taste the trouble that was brewing.

"But your wish is my command. I can't ignore a wish," the genie said as he rubbed his fingers against his chest in a bored like manner.

"That's insane. Who wouldn't make a spontaneous wish if some freak jumped out of a bottle? Why the hell were you in my liquor anyways?"

"Your liquor?" the blue man sputtered.

"Yeah. The bottle I was drinking out of-"

He felt a sharp rap to his head and fell forward to have Nami glaring down at him. Her mouth was still opened in a silent scream, her mouth forming the words that looked suspiciously like 'Zoro you stupid dumb ass you weren't supposed to drink that'. He winced but caught her arms in time before she could hit him again. Standing up he maneuvered her to the table. Careful of her failing legs he easily dragged her to the bench at the table and sat her down. Wearily he sat behind her, careful to keep her arms behind her back and firmly in his hands. The genie was studying them with an interested look. Zoro glared at the man.

"Answer my question."

"Is that a wish?"

"It's a command," Zoro growled his fingers itching to grab his swords but Nami's struggling hands were keeping him occupied.

A flicker of emotion shot across the genie's face as he glided over in front of them. It was then that Zoro noticed that he was missing the lower half of his body. In its place was a ghostly like tail.

"That was my home while I waited for a new master. My original home was destroyed."

"So a liquor bottle is more suitable? Can't that break easily? It's so small how do you sleep in there?"

"You're rather full of questions," the genie remarked smirking. He 'sat' on top of the table. His body floated above it by an inch as he peered down at Zoro and Nami. Zoro felt Nami inch into his chest slightly to lean away from the genie and he felt his own body hunch forward to cover her slightly. The genie laughed and Zoro felt his blood start to boil.

"Fix Nami… _now_."

"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her," the genie said his smirk growing wider.

"She isn't beating the hell out of you or nagging the hell out of me. You're doing something to her. I can't keep her restrained this easily."

The genie looked surprised for a moment before snapping his fingers. An explosion of energy seemed to surge through Nami's body as she roughly shoved him off and dove towards the genie. Her eyes were alight with furry and her mouth was torn open in a silent scream. She fell through the man but she kept trying to hit him.

The whole scene was awkward because it was soundless. Zoro felt uneasy watching the soundless navigator and her frustration was easy to see.

"Give her back her voice."

"I told you. I can't take back wishes."

"Can't I wish to unwish that first one?"

"No."

Zoro growled in frustration. Nami was still throwing violent punches and kicks at the genie, her face red in anger and her own frustration. Seeing the uselessness of it Zoro reached out and pulled her away feeling helpless in the process. Helpless because he had no clue what was going on, helpless because his friend was frustrated and he couldn't fix this right away, and helpless because this was all his fault.

"This has to be some trick. Magic isn't real," he grumbled as he pulled her further away from the blue man. His eyes never leaving the strangely colored man as he pushed Nami back behind him. "People aren't blue."

"People normally don't have green hair either, yet here we are," the genie chuckled.

"You don't see me jumping out of liquor bottles and taking away people's voices," he growled.

"I didn't jump. I floated out. Speaking of the bottle, you might want to use the rest of your wishes. I've never heard of anyone being able to drink that stuff and surviving."

"What's in that anyways? I've never had alcohol like that."

The genie snorted and rolled his eyes to Nami.

"Is he always like this?"

She cracked a small smile before nodding and glaring at the blue man again.

"You drank some of my soul… uh… well I guess it's… uh… soul juice. It's pure magic. Mortals can't handle that."

"What the hell? Soul juice?" Zoro blenched.

"Shouldn't you be more concerned about making some wishes? You're going to die soon."

The genie stated it like it was a fact, like he was going to die. Zoro growled.

"Let's get this straight. One, I'm not going to die because I drank some of your disgusting soul juice," he paused and watched as a curious look shot across the genie's face again. "And two you're going to give Nami her voice back. One way or the other I'll make you."

* * *

**A/N: **_A quick project for me to do and a break from that long drawn out story of zombies I did before this. If you read any of my 'recent' writing you'll know I don't like jumping straight into things and perfer a more realistic build up between characters. Although this story will have a faster pace to it ... but keep that in mind. Also a nice shout out to _**Annoymous Being**_ for beta-ing this chapter, she's awesome and I love her to pieces. I'm throwing the reins of my triple checking this story into her hands. :)_


	2. Nami's Tricks

**Genie in a Bottle**

**Nami's Tricks**

"This is annoying. I'm going to take a nap," he grumbled. Nami hit him hard upside the head which he shrunk back from but couldn't avoid on time. Her posture screamed 'Well then you shouldn't have made that stupid wish, you idiot' but at the same time no sound escaped her. It was unnerving but at the same time it was so Nami and in place that he couldn't bring himself to be too concerned. He could still understand her, for the most part. She snapped her fingers in front of his face before hitting him roughly on the nose.

"What the hell woman?" he growled rubbing his nose tenderly. She pulled his ear and pointed back to the floating blue man. He sighed knowing that he wasn't going to be able to take his nap anytime soon, or get to sleep.

"She wants to know why I'm the only one you'll grant wishes for," he grumbled.

"You're the one that woke me up," he stated simply. Zoro knew that wouldn't be a good enough answer for the navigator and quickly phrased the next question before she could poke or prod him again.

"How did I wake you up?"

"You rubbed the bottle. I assume to read the label better, that tends to be the normal response for people who don't know how to recognize a genie's home."

Zoro yawned loudly making a show of stretching.

"It's almost dawn…" he groaned as he peered out the window.

After the initial shock of the genie's appearance Nami had taken to using him as her personal interpreter to grill the Genie with a bunch of pointless questions. The rest of the crew hadn't come rushing in first thing because the Genie could only been seen and heard by Zoro. At least that is what he said, but it was very obvious that Nami could see him. When asked why the Genie shrugged saying there might be some type of magic interfering with his own. Personally Zoro thought it was a bunch of bullshit, there was no such thing as magic, just like there is no such thing as Santa, or the tooth fairy. There had to be some type of trick to all of this. Like the smoke that had come out of the bottle affected female vocal cords but not male, and this blue man was some type of devil fruit user that made his body ghost like.

Nami's hand hit him roughly upside the head again, a scowl on her face that clearly said he should not be zoning out at the moment or be concerned about his sleep. How the hell was he going to tell the crew this in the morning? Nami suddenly couldn't talk, it was his fault, and there was a floating blue man that only he can see and hear? Chopper would finally have a reason to lock him up…

The silence was starting to become unnerving. Nami's frantic gestures and soft sighs wasn't the same as her obnoxiously dealing with this man in that shrill voice of hers. He didn't like being the one to have to dig for answers, it didn't fit him. He normally just sat back and watched as the information revealed itself. The genie started to shift around uncomfortably.

"Are there others on this ship?"

Zoro glared at the genie while Nami crossed her arms firmly over her chest. She had taken the seat next to him and was leaning heavily on his side, as if she was exhausted. He tensed as her shoulder stayed pressed against his. He wasn't exactly used to being touched by his friends, sure a high-five or a quick hug was is order at times but he never really indulged in it. Right now with Nami glaring at the genie in unison with him made him feel like they were a team, like they were in this mess together. Rolling his shoulders he set his jaw before turning his full attention back on the genie.

"Yes."

"Where is your destination?"

Nami's hand slammed on the table as a soundless curse was directed at the genie. She huffed again in frustration before letting her head hit the table. She turned her face to the side to send him a hopeless look. His gut clenched as he picked up on her renewed distress. How would she be able to get them to the next island if she couldn't shout out orders? Without her constant shouts and demands they couldn't survive in this sea. They needed her.

"What was the name of that island again?" he asked Nami.

Rolling her eyes she hit him lightly in the arm before pulling out a map from her back pocket. She pointed to a small dot with the island's name sprawled out under it.

"Ruzgar*," Zoro barked out to the genie. "We're going to be in some deep shit if we don't get there soon."

"Why? Is this girl your navigator?"

Both Zoro and Nami sighed at the question.

"If you wish for it I can get you there right now…"

Nami's hand shot under the table and found his. Her nails dug into his skin. Instead of hissing in pain he shot her a pointed look. The exchange didn't go unnoticed from the genie.

"I think she wants you to use your wish."

Zoro couldn't help but smirk at the man. He was such an idiot to presume what Nami would want. No she wanted him to give her a wish, and wishing away their journey wasn't something she wanted. She liked to sail and experience the different seas the new world had to offer. Her hand gave him another sharp squeeze and he could have sworn he could feel blood dripping down his palm. He was tempted to use his wish for the crew's safety until he could figure out how to fix Nami but at the same time- Nami's free hand clamped firmly over his mouth and her eyes hardened with a threat.

"Get off me," he growled shaking his hand free and pulling his face away from her.

"All you have to say is 'I wish for us to reach Ruzgar port~'" sang the genie.

"I-"

Nami punched him hard on the back of his head sending him spiraling to the floor. He growled and yanked her arm down so that she was settled on the floor next to him.

"Trust me," he grumbled into her ear making sure to keep his voice down. The genie peered down at them on the floor with curiosity.

"I can't believe you still think I believe you're this all powerful genie. What a bunch of bullshit," he grumbled pulling Nami up with him as he stood. He dusted some imaginary dirt off his pants. He could feel Nami's shock next to him but she made a show of dusting herself off as well before sitting back down on the bench.

"Bullshit? I'm a floating blue man! What else could I be?"

"A devil fruit user," Zoro said making sure to keep his tone flat, that wasn't hard for him. According to Nami he was an unfeeling robot who didn't know how to have fun.

"Pshh. You compare me to those weaklings? I'm a thousand times more powerful than all of them put together. I can do anything. I'm an all-powerful genie."

"Anything but the rules you told me earlier. You can't even bring people back from the dead. How is that all-powerful?"

"Make a wish and I'll prove it," he growled crossing his arms over his chest and glowering at Zoro.

"I already made a wish. It wasn't that impressive or prove that you're a real genie. If you could get this ship and everything in it to Ruzgar…" he let his challenge trail off as he locked eyes with the genie. He raised his brow in challenge as the genie's scowl deepened.

"Fine. You asked for it," the genie snapped. He pushed his skin back mimicking rolling back sleeves and spat into each hand before rubbing them together. With a loud clap everything went dark for a split second the ship lurched forward before tilting back. Nami grabbed onto his arm to steady herself.

"Go see for yourself," he said smugly pointing to the window as the lights flickered back on and the rocking of the ship settled almost immediately.

Nami clapped excitedly and jumped onto Zoro's back. She was grinning but she had stopped opening her mouth with silent shouts. She was pointing excitedly to the black mass of land before them, dotted with a few lights from houses along the coast. Zoro couldn't help but wonder if it was from her already adjusting to the situation or if she was frustrated with the lack of sound and refrained from it.

"Do you want to knock out your last wish as well?"

"I never said I wish," Zoro said grinning wolfishly. "I believe I still have two wishes."

Nami was hugging his back, grinning proudly at him. He couldn't help but smirk. This was probably how Nami felt all the time when she tricked someone. It wasn't a bad feeling, in fact he kind of felt good about it.

That was until he felt a sharp rap to his head and was spiraling down to the wood flooring again.

"Looks like you and the floor are becoming well acquainted tonight," the genie chuckled.

Zoro rubbed the back of his head, expecting a lump but felt nothing; in fact the pain was already gone. He rolled to his side but remained on the floor. Nami was leaning back against the wall next to him trying to look nonchalant but failing as her wide eyes kept shifting to him for reassurance.

"I was well acquainted with this flooring a while ago," Zoro snapped back and shot a pointed look to Nami.

"Get used to it again then. I don't take kindly to people who trick me," the genie growled. Behind him Zoro could make out the sun starting to creep up on the horizon. The genie's body seemed to fade to a lighter blue and if Zoro hadn't been staring right at him he might have though the man was a ghost or had disappeared altogether.

"I will return to my bottle now," he began briskly. "I wouldn't let whoever else is aboard this ship know of my existence… especially if you're pirates," he spat out '_pirates_' with disdain.

"Why?"

"I don't like seeing my masters killed while I'm powerless to protect them-"

"First off I'm not your master," Zoro snapped interrupting him. He was tired and he just wanted to go to bed. "Secondly no one on this ship would kill me."

"I would prefer you not say anything," the genie said seriously. He looked uncomfortable as he tried to give Zoro a look that reminded him of Chopper asking for cotton candy. It was rather pathetic. He was about to snort and laugh off the man's plea when a soft hand squeezed his arm. He sighed and noticed that Nami had sunk down the floor to sit next to him. Her eyes were soft and full of worry, and he knew at once that something had happened for her to sympathize with the genie, that she wanted to help him. Damn his friends and their sympathy at times like this.

"To hell with this," he growled. He crossed his arms over his chest to glare at the genie. "How am I supposed to explain Nami's loss of voice or the fact that we are at port already?"

Nami tugged his arm and made a rather rude gesture towards him. Then she stood up scrambled around the kitchen and returned with a piece of paper and pen.

'_Would you shut the hell up already_?' she scribbled furiously. '_Just let him go away'_.

He sighed for what felt like the millionth time. His eyes wandered over to the genie, who was looking at him expectantly. He nodded in dismissal.

The room felt like a vacuum. Wind picked up out of nowhere as the genie's large form was whisked away back into the bottle. It floated in the air in front of him for a moment before falling into his lap. He pocketed it with a shrug, careful not to place it near his swords in case the next time the weirdo popped out he did something to them next.

"This is a very strange dream," he grumbled. He felt a rough smack upside his head and growled. Nami was busy scribbling on her sheet of paper ignoring him already. She had one hand on his forearm while her other was busy.

'_First, go make sure the Sunny is docked properly. We need to make sure we don't drift out to ocean_._ Once you finish that I'm going to bed. Tell everyone I yelled at you all night for sneaking into the liquor, causing me to lose my voice and I made you sail us to port throughout the night. Tell everyone to go out and enjoy the island and stock up. We'll figure this out once they all are out of here._'

He didn't really want to figure anything out. If this really wasn't a dream that meant he had just spent his entire night talking to a floating blue man who popped out of his bottle. His head was starting to throb but he couldn't help but smirk. He was still alive even with the genie's prediction that he would die from drinking that soul juice or whatever crap that was. He was in desperate need of a nap.

Nami's pad of paper slammed into his face.

_GET MOVING! _

"You know your loss of voice is an improvement. If only you stopped being so violent," he grumbled. He hurriedly shot out of the room though not willing to face her wrath after his last comment. She might consider him a stupid big brute but he still had enough sense to avoid her after he said something to set her off… most of the time at least.

After quickly making sure the anchor was lowered, he jumped up to furl the sails and spent the rest of the time before his friends woke up wondering how he was going to stall them. He wasn't the best liar. In fact the only one that could really lie was Nami, and Usopp, although the sniper went a bit over board at times. Robin could get away with it when she really wanted to but she even had a few tattle tale signs.

He was just debating on going back to Nami and asking her to leave a note when the door to the men's quarters opened.

He cringed and stared out to sea, bracing himself for the coming awkwardness that would be this morning.

"Good morning," sang the little doctor. He felt his body relax instantly against the railing and he let out a long breath. Out of everyone he had to deal with first thing in the morning he was rather glad it was Chopper. Better him than that annoying shit cook.

Chopper skipped to his side jumping up to the railing and giggling. He was in a surprisingly good mood for no reason. It always softened Zoro to see his younger friend like this. It was good for the young doctor to get some normal pieces of childhood out of the life of studying and sadness he had before them. He had always been an outcast, always referred to as a monster before them. Zoro couldn't help but feel a little extra protective towards the reindeer.

"Morning," he grunted back.

"Whoa we're at port already?" Chopper squeaked excitedly. His body bopped up and down on the railing as he studied the island.

In the early morning light it looked rather ominous. The shore was coated in fog, and the single tip of the lone mountain was really the only distinguishing feature. Silence as thick as the fog on shore seemed to come in-between him and the doctor.

"You never came back to bed last night. Was your fight with Nami really that bad?" Chopper questioned innocently after a moment. The sunlight was starting to creep down the mountain side and he could feel the warmth on his back as it rose higher into the sky.

"What do you mean?" he snapped feeling defensive.

"You stormed out of the library earlier last night… Sanji said you were passed out with a bottle of rum at your side in the kitchen when he left for bed."

"Oh…"

"Don't worry about your debt Zoro. I'll help you pay it off," the doctor reassured. He found a snort escaping him at his friend's assumption of their fight, but under normal circumstances it normally did have to do with the debt he owed her or something close along those lines.

"Don't you have your own debt?" he chuckled at his friend's offer.

"No?"

"You should ask her. She has a running tab for everyone on this ship for the smallest things…" he sighed. "Freaking Witch," he grumbled under his breath.

"She kept me up all night," he said after the silence lapped between them again. "She lost her voice…" he confessed, "maybe you should go check on her."

"Did she really yell at you all night?" Chopper squeaked looking frightened at the prospect of having to deal with a furious Nami.

"Something like that. I'm going to bed. Tell the others to keep it down when they get up, will you?"

"Sure Zoro," Chopper smiled at him.

"Also I wouldn't wake up Nami, wait for her to get up on her own, she's in a rather foul mood… she told me to tell everyone it was fine to go ashore. Just tell them not to burn down the village… or something like that."

He flapped his arm in dismissal as he made his way towards the men's quarters. He could feel sleep tugging on his eye lids as he crawled into his bed. His last thought before sleep took him was that for once he was grateful that he didn't have to deal with Nami for a few more hours at least.

How sorely mistaken he was.

* * *

**A/N:** _HEY EVERYONE! First off happy new year! Secondly I have been ridiculously busy... like insane. Like it makes me talk like a valley girl and say like every five seconds because my mind can't handle much else, but on the positive side things will start to calm down for me. I just have to make it through this first week of school coming up tomorrow and the rest of the week. Then my 21st birthday is thursday so I'll likely be unable to function enough to do much else on the weekend. For everyone in a country that can drink alcohol at whatever age your government sees fit the United States is 21. Anyways I don't encourage underage drinking and I'm going on a bit of a huge freaking ramble here... just know that I'm ALIVE (mwahahahahaha) and I'll be back to my writing self in the next few weeks. Just cut me some slack. :). Alsooooooooo Thanks again to _**Anonymous Being**_ for looking over this chapter. She's the shit. _

_Quick post script Rugzar* means wind in some language I randomly selected from googletranslate :p. _


	3. Chopper's Fury

**Genie in a Bottle**

**Chopper's Fury**

Zoro had his fair share of nightmares. It was common place aboard a pirate ship; fear that was skirted around in the day time often had to be confronted at night. Sometimes it would just happen when he was sleeping on deck and someone would rudely awaken him because he had called out a warning to his friends in his sleep. Sometimes he wished the things they went through were just awful dreams, nightmares that could be forgotten. Well that was a lie, he was glad they happened, glad that they had something to make their brighter days together just that, brighter. Not that he would ever voice any of this out loud. He wasn't that sentimental. It wasn't that he was afraid that his friends would think him weaker for it, but they should know how he felt. He was the silent type, the one that protected them all besides his captain. He didn't express himself in words because to do so would be redundant. That didn't mean certain things didn't bother him. That didn't mean he didn't have emotions, he just kept things on the simpler side.

He was scared of a lot of things. He was scared to disappoint Luffy, he was scared that any day he could lose one of his friends, he was scared that if he didn't train enough he might not be strong enough the next day for the next opponent. He was scared he might not be fast enough to save someone in the line of fire. It helps fuel him, it makes him stronger, and it makes him train. Fear was a powerful motivator, but so is love. Yes he loves his friends, he's not afraid to admit that. He sure as hell loves Luffy enough to swallow his own pride for him.

But love wasn't enough to block out fear completely for him. Fear that was ignored came back to haunt him in his sleep at times. The fear would show in his dreams. Kunia might never be forgotten but he had long ago come to terms with her death. He would never give up on his promise to her, but his promise to her and his promise to Luffy coincided; besides a promise to the living was much more important than one to the dead.

So when he dreamt of a floating blue man pulling a sword on Nami while he remained locked in place he couldn't help but wake with a shout.

He panted trying to let the image erase itself as he neared consciousness but it refused to. It was burned into his mind and he groaned into his pillow trying to think of something more pleasant like sake. Seeing her pale neck exposed to a blade a split second before a river of red blood took its place, was enough to make sleep escape him and nausea roll into the pit of his stomach. This 'genie' guy wasn't some joke even if it was just his over active imagination conjuring this image, it still disturbed him. Despite the long night chatting with the man he couldn't help but feel threatened by him. There was something off about the whole thing, something suspicious.

There was a faint pop in his pocket before the room filled with mysterious blue smoke.

"You rang?"

Zoro snorted and rolled over in his bed, drawing the covers up to his chin, ignoring the annoying blue man.

"No," he growled hoping his voice sounded more threatening than he felt. He wanted to add 'Go away' but for some reason he felt like that would be laughed at and might sound a little childish. He shut his eyes willing sleep to come back to him. The air shifted and the next thing he knew his body was reacting before he could process it, lurching at the sudden threat of danger.

He panted, his fist curled around his blade, his eyes widened as he stared at Chopper. He could have sworn he had felt the genie towering above him…

"Sorry," he muttered and hastily put his blade back in its sheath. His friend looked startled and his tiny hoof rested over his heart clutching the fur there. His mouth was open in a tiny scream and he looked like he had lost consciousness while still standing. Chopper recovered quickly from the shock as his face darkened in anger.

"What the hell Zoro?" he screeched. "Are you trying to kill me?!"

"No I just thought you were someone else—"

"Who else would be coming into our room?!"

"Errr- a burglar?" he offered weakly as he sat back down on the edge of his bed.

Chopper's face went blank for a moment before he was snarling at him again. The small doctor launched his body on top of Zoro's face, his tiny hooves beating him repeatedly on the back side of his head.

"You could have killed me!" he squeaked.

Zoro's response was muffled as his arms failed around in an attempt to pry the reindeer off.

There was a loud bang from somewhere close to the door, and Chopper's insistent pounding stopped. He could only guess what would shock the reindeer from stopping but he couldn't breathe with the stupid doctor glued to his face like this. Taking advantage of the reindeer's pause Zoro ripped the reindeer off and took several deep breaths.

"Bastard!" they shouted in unison to each other. Zoro wrapped his hands around the tiny deer's throat while Chopper attempted the same. Their wrestling match was short lived as they both were hit roughly in the head and sprawled out on the floor before long pale shapely legs. Zoro groaned and glanced up to the owner of said legs. Her orange hair nearly hid her face as she leaned down with a scolding finger held up at them.

A piece of paper floated down to the floor beside them as Nami stood towering above them. He could have sworn he could see a vein throbbing in her forehead. Her eyes were a little bloodshot too, probably from lack of sleep. Zoro vaguely wondered how long he had been asleep.

'_SHUT THE *&%# UP_!' the note read.

Chopper's eyes grew wide as he quickly hid behind Zoro's larger form. Her eyes narrowed as she whipped out her notebook and scribbled down another note before holding it out for Zoro to see.

'_What the hell is going on here_?'

"Zoro tried to kill me," Chopper squeaked peering over his shoulder and reading the note slightly faster than he had.

"What- no I-"

Nami's swift punch was enough to shut up any excuse he might have offered. Annoyed with his two friends he silently glared at them as Chopper squeaked out what had happened.

"You could wish them both away you know. You'd never have to deal with this kind of abuse again," sang a third voice. Zoro tensed and glared at the floating blue man. He was hovering over Nami's shoulder peering down at the scene before him, he was a bit too close to Nami for Zoro's comfort and neither Chopper nor Nami seemed to have heard him or notice him.

"Never," he snapped his glance going from the genie who he directed his outburst to Chopper at his side.

Both Chopper and Nami sent him a curious look.

"Never what Zoro?"

He flushed slightly before bowing his head to his chest so that only Chopper would be able to properly hear him.

"I would never hurt you," he mumbled lowly. He winced slightly as he felt his cheeks darken a shade at Chopper's curious glance and Nami's obvious amusement.

"I know that," the doctor mumbled just as lowly. Nami's stupid grin was the only thing that was wrecking this moment. Even if he had been playing around with Chopper this was what felt like a serious moment. At least her stupid loud laughter wasn't filling the air obnoxiously as she teased him.

Chopper was distracted though at the appearance of the navigator. The small doctor stood rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"So Nami what did Zoro do to make you lose your voice?"

Zoro had almost forgotten about the genie. He appeared before Nami and frowned down at her his arms crossing in front of his chest in warning as he shook his head no. Chopper couldn't see him but Nami couldn't see past the blue man.

"Oi, leave her alone," Zoro growled.

"Didn't you tell me to check on her?" Chopper asked. He looked a little flustered with what Zoro could tell he thought were mood swings coming from the swordsman.

"I wasn't talking to you I was—"

He was hit square in his chest and fell to the floor with a loud thump. He wheezed as he tried to catch his breath, his hand resting over the spot he had been hit. He glared at the genie.

"Knock it off, would you?" he said it more like a demand than an actual question. He tried to sound bored and like he was directing it at Nami but he couldn't help the fierce scowl that was marred across his face. This man was really starting to get annoying. Chopper stood frozen in the middle of the room glancing between the two curiously.

"Nami didn't touch you Zoro," he said quietly almost as if he was placing the pieces together.

"Alright, listen here you floating Smurf this isn't going to work," Zoro stood and checked his swords which were secured at his sides.

"I'm not a Smurf," the genie growled his nose flaring in anger. Nami was frantically gesturing towards him to shut up but he ignored her. She started to write, her pen flying across the paper at a blinding speed.

"What's not going to work? What the hell is a Smurf?" Chopper squeaked.

"You're a blue blob. What else could you be?" Zoro growled ignoring Chopper.

"Nothing is blue here! Are you feeling okay Zoro?" Chopper asked his hoof resting on Zoro's forehead for a moment to check his temperature. Zoro shrugged him off, his fist clenching tightly around his sword. Nami leapt in front of the genie as he drew back his hands, holding out her notepad in front of her.

'_Please let us tell him. It's just Chopper, he's basically a child he won't hurt Zoro'_ her notepad said as she thrust it to the genie. The man frowned before slowly nodding.

"Oi! Why are you guys ignoring me?! What's a Smurf?!"

"This devil fruit user thinks he's a genie or something," Zoro said thumbing over to Nami where the genie stood next to her. Chopper's eyes locked on Nami clearly confused.

"Oi, blueberry, show yourself to Chopper," he growled as Chopper started looking between the two of them as if they were crazy.

"I told you master, others cannot see me. You may tell him about me but I can't just reveal myself to anyone. Only my master can see me at any given time."

"Why can't he hear you?"

In response the genie shrugged and glanced back to Nami. The girl had started turning a sickly green color and sat down on the bed staring blankly at the three of them.

"What is going on…?" Chopper asked as he took a seat next to Nami. He placed his head down in his hooves and let out a deep breath. "I've never seen this before. How did Zoro just fly across the room without any one touching him… what's wrong with your voice Nami?"

He almost seemed like he was muttering to himself only he looked up to give Nami a rather lost look. She looked pointedly at Zoro who had sat back down on his bed to stare at the two of them.

"Errr?"

She sighed and pulled out her pad of paper from her back pocket. She quickly scribbled something down for Chopper to read, making sure to tilt it up so that Zoro couldn't see.

"Zoro could you leave my patient and I alone for a few minutes," Chopper's stern tone cut through the air as he quickly glanced up from the pad of paper to give Zoro a pointed look.

Sighing and knowing this wasn't going to end well for him, the swordsman stood without protest and made his way to the door.

"I'll be sleeping," he added glumly at the doorway before he allowed the door to shut behind him.

()()()()()()()()()()()

Zoro glowered at the genie. Yes_, glowered_.

"He thinks we've lost our minds."

"Better than him trying to kill you and seizing me for his own personal gain."

"He would never do that. No one on this ship would ever do that," Zoro hissed. He felt like banging his head against the wall in frustration.

"How many people are on this ship?"

"Nine normally. They all went out to town earlier. They'll probably be gone all day," Zoro curtly answered.

The genie was quiet for a moment before sighing.

"You obviously trust your friends… but I won't protect you from them if anything happens," he warned.

"I'm not asking you to," Zoro snapped. "And they won't do anything."

Silence lapped between them as Zoro stared worriedly at the door.

"Why can she see you?"

The genie shrugged. Zoro felt his brow twitch in irritation.

"ZORO!"

He grimaced as Chopper stomped up to him with a pale Nami in tow.

"You freaking bastard," the reindeer hissed smacking him roughly in the shin with his hoof.

"You're one to talk!" he howled holding his injured leg.

"You made such a careless wish!"

He sighed and glanced at Nami. She smiled faintly at him before turning her attention back to Chopper.

"Good news is that it doesn't seem permanent. Maybe another week or so," he growled. "Her voice will be stiff once she gets it back but the damaged tissue is already healing," he informed him.

Both Nami and Zoro let out a sigh of relief.

"Look it's been a crazy morning…" the reindeer started. "Why don't we go into town and check things out?"

"It'll help us relax a little," the doctor added, the hopefulness etched into his voice couldn't be concealed.

Zoro would have laughed at any other time at the reindeer's proposal. Zoro however, knew that he had been excited for weeks to come to this island because of the promised cooler climate and the great selection of books. He hadn't shut up about it since Nami had mentioned it. Zoro nodded and Nami raised her hand in a way to say she was on board too. He couldn't help but relax as she smiled softly at him.

She was going to get her voice back. They just had to be patient. Hopefully they wouldn't get run out of town and could stay here for the duration of the week.

The genie whisked back into the bottle in Zoro's pocket. The faint wind hadn't disturbed anyone but the navigator who looked at Zoro's pocket with a frown. Something was up with the genie, she just couldn't figure out what it was.

* * *

**A/N: **_As always thanks to my first mate for going over this chapter. She really helped encouraging wise for me to keep this. I was about to scrap the whole thing hahahahaha. Anyways thanks everyone for the birthday wishes last chapter ;) and for understanding about my busy time frame lately. You guys rock :D_


	4. Franky's Speedo

**Genie in a Bottle**

**Franky's Speedo**

Nami pouted as they passed what looked like several overpriced clothing stores. Normally he would have scoffed and laughed at how pathetic she looked. She looked like that damn love cook making eyes at every passing woman, and yes she looked _that pathetic_. But he refrained since he knew she was just about dying at all the missed opportunities to haggle some poor sales man behind the counter at giving her a good deal. She was good at that and she obviously enjoyed it. She couldn't do much without her voice. So instead of snickering at her misery he lightly patted her arm and urged her to move forward after Chopper. Her eyes pleaded with him for a moment to just let her look around the store but he shook his head.

Her pout deepened, but oddly she didn't protest. Probably because without her voice she was a lot less threatening and they were in the middle of a public street. It was best to keep a low profile. But he could only speculate about what his friend was thinking at the moment, he had no real insight to what she could possibly be actually thinking.

She was always yelling about staying discreet, staying out of trouble, making sure to meet up later, and all that jazz. Really if it weren't for her they probably would have all gone completely wild… okay they might have done that several times already, but it was her insistence for order that let everyone else relax. Since she worried about it, they knew it would all work out one way or the other, because there was always someone thinking, and then there was their captain who was always acting. It's a nice balance.

He glanced over to his side noticing the navigator's sudden pause. She had a look of pure shock on her face. Her eyes rolled to the heavens and she let out a deep breath, before pointing. He followed her gaze and instantly regretted it.

In the middle of the street there was Franky. His legs were crossed in an awkward attempt to cover his lower half, which looked suspiciously avoid of clothing or his usual speedo (Zoro wasn't about to actually look hard enough to find out). The cyborg was covered in rose petals and possibly honey (again he can't be too sure because he doesn't want to look that hard, but it was a liquidity yellow color). A giant swarm of bees were following him as he screamed madly, dashing through the crowded center. Chopper squeaked and rushed to their friend's aid, asking strangers frantically for water to throw at the cyborg. In the distance Luffy's laughter could be heard pedaling out from in between the buildings with Usopp and Sanji's shrieks, and Robin's light chuckle.

"How do those idiots manage to do something like this every time?" he grunted stepping to the side just as Chopper came burrowing through with a bucket of water which he tossed on the screaming cyborg.

It wasn't enough to stop the massive cloud of humming bees, but it was enough to get their direct attention off of Franky. It took the crowd a few seconds of panicked screaming before the street busted into a flurry of motion, and the crowd pushed and shoved every which way trying to get cover in buildings away from the angry swarm.

A man slammed into him and knocked into Nami. Her mouth opened in a silent scream as she reached out just in time to catch his arm and right herself. Glaring daggers at the man while he rushed away without an apology, Nami tugged on his sleeve to get his attention.

He didn't need a note pad to know that she wanted him to fix this mess. It was written in her eyes. He nodded silently pushing her behind him as Franky and Chopper talked excitedly and the robot began firing his weaponized arm indiscriminately into the sky. Quickly an idea stuck him as he drew two of his swords. He slid into his stance almost subconsciously. With a quick and rapid twirl he launched himself into the sky and scattered the angry bees with a whirlwind.

It was all over so fast, and so easily taken care of that Chopper's jaw dropped.

"Suppppper job bro!" Franky congratulated him. His hands moved uncovering himself to give Zoro a round of applause.

"Where the hell did your pants go?" he snapped cringing as his peripheral vision caught sight of 'it'.

It was strange to see the cyborg blush and Nami grin mischievously in a knowing way at the same time. It was like they shared a secret.

"Oi Sis, don't say anything!" Franky shouted scratching the back of his head sheepishly as Nami's grin deepened. She shrugged her shoulders after a moment, sticking her tongue out at him and winking. She would have been mimicking laughter but it was hard to tell as she made her way to the shelter of a building. A few bees were still buzzing around haphazardly.

"Don't worry Franky. She lost her voice temporarily," Chopper assured. As Chopper gave a quick explanation Zoro made his way towards Nami.

"So why doesn't he have his pants?" he asked slightly curious. Her eyes lit up in a mischievous glint again as she faced him. Her hands were suddenly bracing on either side of his chest, as she leaned forward and pressed her lips into his ear.

His world stilled for a moment. Every nerve, every sense was focused on her hot breath as it danced into his ear. Just as quickly as it happened she pulled away. Her eyes danced with even more mischief (if that's possible). He could feel his face burning. He coughed, using the momentum to hide his face from her for a split second to right himself.

She had done it on purpose to tease him, to gauge his reaction, but at the same time all he felt was frustration. It wasn't the first time she had done something almost seductive like to him, but this time he wasn't getting a fair trade of information back or anything. He found that he didn't really care why Franky was stark naked (he never did to begin with) but what worried him was why he was going out of his way to spend time with the silent girl. He wasn't going to lie to himself, that was just stupid.

Why was it he was always protecting her? Why did he sometimes go out of his way to pick a fight with her? Why…

He didn't need to keep asking these questions. He might not be the smartest Straw Hat but he was no idiot either. There were only a few straight answers to what he was asking himself. He felt his heart sink in his chest slightly before it began pounding with a little bit more force as he looked her in the eye.

"Nami, I think—"

"Ah Nami, Zoro, there you are," Robin greeted. She was covered in the same honey like substance, with flower petals coated on her as well. In the background, Luffy was laughing loudly at Franky as he quickly pulled on a pair of a supplied speedo, Sanji was cursing at him, Usopp was in a dazed looking shock, and Chopper was checking to see if anyone had any bee stings.

"Any sign of Brook?" he asked the older woman quickly composing himself.

"He went back to the ship saying he wanted a cup of tea," she offered, her face furrowed into a quick frown as she glanced back at Nami.

"Are you okay Miss Nami?" she asked over his shoulder.

"She just lost her voice," he offered quickly for the girl. Robin's brow quirked in question.

"She really yelled at you all night? I'm surprised none of us heard it…" the archeologist trailed off, her tone leaving the suggestion that something else happened. Nami waved frantically, her face was alight with a blush, before she crossed her arms and made an 'x' in denial. Robin smirked.

"It's alright Nami… I got into a little trouble myself this morning," the older woman giggled. She had said it lowly for only Nami's ears but Zoro caught it. He glanced back over to Franky and like two pieces to a puzzle it fit.

Nami grinned in response and held out a gold chain with a small pedant on it for Robin to inspect. The older woman nodded in approval, but Zoro was lost on something. When the hell did that girl get time to steal that?

* * *

**A/N:** This chapter is super important later. And HI everyone. I'm not dead... Really between school and work I've had zero down time. I have spent my spring break doing nice relaxing things and not writing. Honestly at one point and time these past two months I forgot I owned a computer. So I'll stop ranting now. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. It's unbetaed because I felt terrible about this long wait you've all suffered :p. So let me know if you find any mistakes. I might come back and revamp this before the next chapter.


	5. Robin's Smile

**Genie in a Bottle**

**Robin's Smile**

The way back to the ship was uneventful. Zoro kept his stride even with Nami while the rest of the group explained what had happened. Apparently the older woman had tried to leave the cook's side to go on a date, which the cook flat out refused to let happen. Robin put up with the antics and said that it was about time that everyone learned, and led the cook to the spot she was supposed to meet her date at. When Robin arrived at the meeting spot Franky was there with a large picnic set up, with rose petals and candles and… erm lacking a good amount of his usual clothing with only a guitar to cover him up, Sanji hadn't taken to the image very well. Of course Sanji had freaked out on the cyborg, and the small group hadn't noticed that there was a rather huge beehive right above them that was roughly the size of a small house. Luffy had come dashing over with Usopp in tow thinking that Robin, Franky, and Sanji were throwing a party without him because the captain could smell food and hear them talking loudly. But of course, the rubber man had flung himself into the tree in his excitement causing the massive beehive to explode and cover them all in honey. Franky who had been directly under the beehive was covered the most, but Robin had been close by and the cyborg had grabbed her to help shield her from the angry swarm of bees. Sanji was still all sorts of pissed that the cyborg saved Robin with his lack of clothing started chasing the naked man. But they all were distracted when the massive amount of bees started attacking them.

Nami's face was that of pure glee as Robin finished the story with a small smile, "and that was when Zoro-san came and saved us."

"Only our crew…" Zoro sighed as he looked over his excited group of friends. Luffy looked like he was trying to lick the honey off of everyone, while Sanji freaked out calling the oblivious captain a pervert.

"That is something Nami would say," Robin giggled behind her hand. Her free arm was locked with Nami's, and the younger woman looked slightly embarrassed by the comment. Zoro just shrugged letting the trio fall back into silence. Without Nami's constant chatter and bossy directions the group was a lot quieter than normal, although the Straw Hats were anything but silent, the lack of the navigators whinny voice to the group was still unnerving.

"Since Miss Nami's voice seems to be missing maybe you can shed some light on the events of last night?" Robin questioned just as the Sunny came into view. Zoro could feel his ears burning and was actually aware of the fact that the entire crew had become silent.

Dammit, he really did not want to deal with this. Not only was he going to have to hear about how un SUPER his wish was, Sanji was going to try and castrate him, Usopp was going to rant about some unrelated story to make it about himself, who knew what Luffy would do, and Robin was going to give him that damn smirk that said she knew exactly what was going on. At least he didn't have to worry about the tiny doctor at the moment, seeing as the young reindeer was already filled in about this topic.

Grunting he turned to face his silent waiting friends.

"Well there's this blueberry man that jumped out of my liquor bottle. He took Nami's voice away and wants me to make two more wishes," he said simply pulling out the bottle to show his friends. "He says only I can see and hear him, but I know Nami can as well."

He expected a larger reaction from his friends than the one he got.

Luffy laughed, and surged his way past him. Giving him a pat on the back and a good luck call as he raced to the ship urging Sanji to give him meat. Chopper was frowning, already aware of the circumstances, and raced towards the ship after Luffy with light forced laughter. Usopp stood there speechless for a moment, before blurting out a thousand questions that Zoro didn't have the answer to. Many of which were seconded by the angry perverted cook.

"How did you wish her voice away? How am I supposed to go on in this life without hearing our angel speak sweet words?" Sanji wailed after Usopp voiced the same concern.

"It was an accident," Zoro growled trying to keep his tone neutral as he gritted his teeth. "Your shrieking angel was destroying my ear drum—"

"Then you should have appreciated that she was close enough to damage your hearing, you ungrateful brute."

"Just because I'm not some crazed lunatic that thinks the shrieking of a carrot top, treasure obsessed, witch, isn't a sirens call doesn't mean that I am an ungrateful brute. I just have a sense of hearing."

"Why you—"

"Why don't we let Zoro figure this out? Chopper said the damage wasn't permanent. And with any luck Nami will be ready to go once a course is set," Robin's calm voice interrupted.

Franky grinned at her wolfishly, "Nice thinking Nico Robin. No reason to freak out it will all be SUPPPER!"

"Don't look at Robin-chwan that way you sick pervert!" Sanji squealed. He left the swordsman's side to stand protectively in front of the older woman. Zoro smiled appreciatively at the archeologist. Whose small secret smile seemed to hold a cost that he would have to pay for later. After that the rest of the crew was surprisingly quiet on the matter, although he was 'scolded' for taking away Nami's voice everyone seemed to steer clear of him about the matter for the rest of the night.

Nami was whisked away as soon as they were aboard the ship, everyone trying hard to communicate with the young girl. Her sign language and body signals were easily understood, and with the notepad attached to her hip everyone got the jest of what she was trying to communicate. What seemed to infuriate Sanji, and much to his own frustration, was that Zoro was able to understand whatever point or need Nami needed before the others could. Which by the end of the night had led the girl to sit by his side at dinner and wait calmly as the others filed out leaving the two of them alone once more.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and kept his gaze locked on the genie's bottle that sat in front of them. The whole room seemed empty, besides the chairs they sat on and the bottle in front of them. It made him unexplainably anxious.

"Should I summon him again?" he asked her, out of the corner of his eye he saw her quickly shake her head no. He let himself fall silent again. Even after their friends were filled in on the problem everything had gone too smoothly, almost magically…

"He is interfering with their reactions," he grunted angrily, grabbing his sword he stood from the table ready to cut the bottle. Nami's panicked hand caught his arm before he could. Her soft sigh and gentle shake urged him to place his sword back in his sheath.

"This isn't right. Something is up with all of them," he growled. Shutting his eyes in frustration and with begrudge he sat back down in his chair. Sanji would never leave the room with Nami still here, at Zoro's side. It wasn't adding up, the cook's reaction had been too mild, and so had Luffy's for that matter. No one took harm coming to their friend this lightly, even if it wasn't permanent. Even Chopper's aloofness with him once they returned to the ship was abnormal, he should have been all over Nami and dotting on her every five seconds.

Maybe… maybe he couldn't fix this on his own. He wasn't the best with problems; he could be trusted to handle a task that was for sure. Luffy trusted him with his life on more than one occasion, and so did his crew. They looked to him for answers just as much as they looked to Luffy, but sometimes he had to look to them. He was just too stubborn to admit it at times. He would eventually fix this mess, but he might need some help this time.

"Robin will know about this genie guy," he nodded to himself as he scooped up the bottle and shoved it into his pocket. Grabbing Nami's wrist he dashed out the door and raced across the ship to the girl's dorm. Robin had to know something about this stupid genie, and maybe that stupid smirk she had sent him earlier was an invitation to discuss this matter in private without the crew's constant prying and input.

He really hoped he hadn't misread that smile.

* * *

**A/N: **HI! Again I'm alive. Damn I've just had a busy year so far... I won't complain this time. I hope you guys enjoyed the update. Since I am now out of school for the summer I should have a little bit more time on my hands. I'm not going to promise anything though. My life isn't stable enough for that ;p


	6. Pieces

**Genie in a Bottle**

**Pieces**

_Zoro, _

_By the time you read this letter I will be a few hours away in town somewhere... This is hard to write. I know you don't like to read and you think that fairy tales are a bunch of bull crap. I'm sorry I must be short but I did have a point with that, be sure that everyone doesn't come looking for me. I have left on my own free will. I have stolen something that was a bigger deal than I understood at the time. Be sure you guys find someone who can tolerate Luffy, and stay out of my stuff! Especially my desk! _

_Much love,_

_Nami_

Of course the first place he ran to check to see if she was really gone was the library. A room he went to seldom, unless it was for her. As he dashed up the stairs a reminder of the last time he had gone to this room started to dance its way up to the forefront of his mind. How serene she had been as she scribbled down all their adventures together, how utterly happy it made her. Her letter had to be a bunch of bull shit. There was no way she would just up and leave like that, without an explanation to any of them, just a flimsy piece of paper as an excuse.

Despite being in incredible shape, the stairs and climb up the latter had left him winded. He bent over catching his breath before surging into the room.

It still smelled like her. The air was tainted with the smell of fresh ink and tangerines. For one wild and joyous second his mind conjured up the image of her sitting at the desk just like she had been last time. His hopes were dashed and a low growl escaped him as he blinked and her likeness disappeared.

"Dammit woman," he cursed under his breath storming over to her desk. In his anger he was tempted to flip her desk, but that would just be pointless and once he found her he was sure to pay for that big time if she ever found out. Instead he settled for slamming open a few drawers. He was surprised to find one of his books in the first one he pulled open. He snatched it up just as a piece of paper fluttered out and to the ground.

_Zoro,_

_Thank god you aren't a total idiot. Don't you dare drag the others into this… I was kind of caught… by the man whose gold chain and pendant I stole the other day. The stupid jerk ran into me the other day when we were in town, so it was only fair that I made him pay me back in kind. Although I don't think that was his idea. Either way he is giving me enough time to write a final farewell to everyone to explain what happened. The first one he was looking over my shoulder, but I think he grew bored with that. I still don't have a lot of time, but I am trying to stall him. Dear god, you all sleep like the dead. And why the hell did you leave a mute girl alone on watch last night? Just because I was upset doesn't mean you should leave me alone. Idiot. _

_This man. His name is Rick? I think. I've just been calling him Dick in my head… all puns aside. DO NOT TELL LUFFY. This man is dragging me off to his castle. It is in the center of town and IMPOSSIBLE TO MISS. If you come save me I will scratch off 30% of your debt to me. _

_See you soon,_

_Nami_

Three things irked him about this letter. The first would be that he agreed with her about leaving a mute girl alone on watch last night. They had talked to Robin about the genie, and the woman hadn't given them the greatest news about the subject. It was unheard of to drink the substance inside of the bottle, so who knew what the side effects were, but also that the owners and the people who saw the genie would wind up dead in all the things that Robin had read. Even without her voice Nami had thrown quiet a huge fit, and at first he thought it was for her own life, until she angrily scribbled on a piece of paper asking if he had felt threatened at all by the genie's presence, or if he felt like he could trust the blue man. He had answered her honestly, telling her no he didn't trust the blueberry, and that had just set off the navigator even more. Storming out of the room she insisted he instruct everyone to leave her alone for the night and let her take watch.

The second part of the letter that annoyed him was the fact that she knew he would come storming up her to look for her, and his first instinct would be to tell the captain about this. There was no reason to keep this from Luffy but knowing Nami it was because she was afraid of the damages their captain would cause to the town in search for her. It would be like releasing a demon unto the town, not that he was much better, but at times he had a little more tact than the captain. Without her voice they would either have to pay for the damages, or flee town, and the second option wasn't available to them at the moment; and Nami would never fork out money willingly if it could be avoided.

The third part was that she managed to distract the man long enough to write two letters, one a big decoy for him to find the second. He felt his skin crawl as he thought of what antics she could have possibly used and what that man might have done to her. Bristling, he shoved the letter into his pocket and pulled out the bottle that was always on his persons lately.

With a swish, and a plume of smoke the blue man stood before him.

"Before you say one word I have several things I want to clarify with you," Zoro snapped drawing his cursed sword and hoping beyond hope that this would work. He launched forward and pressed the blade tightly against the genie's neck. He felt his smile turn murderous as a trickle of blue blood spewed out and slide down his blade, and the genie's eyes widened considerably.

"Stop messing with my crew. I can tell that you are interfering with them. Second. I swear I will kill you now if you so much as cause a hair on Nami's head to be hurt—"

"It wasn't my doing. That stupid girl stole something rather important—"

"I don't give a damn about what she stole. I know you're involved. So you better start hoping you truly are immortal," he hissed pressing his blade closer to the genie and drawing out a thicker line of blood.

"Alright!" he squeaked. "Alright!" he pushed the blade away and rubbed his neck, studying the blue substance with fascination. "You caught me. But it is the price of the wish…"

"I never wanted to make that wish," Zoro snapped. He was also annoyed because it was obvious that the genie had not given him a private moment since he had woken him up. All the conversations he had with the crew, and with Nami this floating smurf knew about. He gritted his teeth considering what Robin had told him with a little more caution. He had to tread carefully, he had to get Nami back.

"There is a price for everything. A price for ownership, a price for a wish… a price for freedom…" the genie's gaze locked on the bottle, a small frown on his face.

"I'll cut that damn bottle and free you. Take that as payment for the wish," Zoro quickly offered.

"It isn't that easy. I can be bound to anything. A wish is the only thing that could free me…"

"I'll free you once I know Nami is safe," Zoro started. "But I might cut you afterwards for all the trouble you've been causing."

"Fair enough," the genie grinned. "I'm assuming you need me to find the way to her?"

Always hating to admit that he was directionally challenged, Zoro stomped out the door letting it swing shut behind him. He knew that the stupid genie was hovering over his shoulder.

"You better hope nothing has happened to her," he growled darkly before turning and telling Luffy that he was going to town to find a fishing shop.

* * *

**A/N: **Sooooo. Haha this is the fastest I have updated for this story in a while :D. And none of the other Straw Hats had much say in this chapter so I gave the title to the show this time ;). I'm not sure if I'll be able to squeeze all the titles out for everyone. Originally I thought I had more material but writing it out it has been condensed considerably. If anyone understands my ramblings I'm impressed. This is one of my midnight ravings... xD. Until next time everyone.


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