"Shunsuke." Zoro held his breath. "It's not worth it. Don't do it."

Zoro's friend spun around, holding a blade coated in thick, shiny blood. A smile of pure bliss washed up on Shunsuke's face that caused horrible, frightened shivers to run up Zoro's spine. Was his friend always so sadistic? Did he always have a sneer on his face when he killed others? Zoro stood, about to stop Shunsuke, but a pain sped up through his arm and he was once again brought to his knees, wincing with immense pain.

"Zoro! Don't stand up." Shunsuke was suddenly back to his old self, trotting over to Zoro and kneeling beside him. "You're only hurting yourself. I'll get rid of the rest of them."

"Pirate Hunter Zoro! Prepare to face your inevitable death!" a pirate with enough courage and health stood and announced. Shunsuke stood and unsheathed the sword at his back, using his free hand to brush through his golden hair. Zoro stared up at his best friend, watching him cut down pirates. It took him quite a while to notice how his hands were trembling. Was Shunsuke doing this for Zoro? Or just for himself? Zoro cringed as his friend sliced an arm off. Zoro tightened his fists as his friend slashed at a body that was already a corpse. He was crazy. Insane. Was Shunsuke always like this?

Zoro breathed in, willing his body to move before Shunsuke cut down a child. "Shunsuke!" He stood and dashed forward, leaving his three swords at the ground before him. "STOP!" Blackness.

XXX

"…ro!"

Blood suddenly rushed through his body as his single eye snapped open. It pupil was as small as a pencil dot thanks to the bright sunlight that blinded him.

"… Zoro!"

Zoro's mind finally cleared as he heard Nami's voice. Yes, it was horribly annoying and high-pitched, but it reminded him where he was, even who he was. He yawned and sat up, Nami moving with him. Her long, fluffy hair bounced in front of her chest and Zoro frowned angrily at the sight. Why? Well, that was for him to know and for no one to ever find out.

"What is it?" he breathed, rubbing the sleep out of his eye. "Did Luffy get his head stuck between the railing again?" Asking that filled Zoro's entire being with relief. Yes, he was on the Sunny Go. He was with his nakama.

"Zoro… are you alright?" Nami asked, finally saying something. She gazed into his eye with concern. Thankfully, she was the only one around. He had been sleeping near the orange bush from Nami's home island, so Zoro figured she was checking up on her bush and just noticed him. And then, Nami leaned in and frowned, poking at his forehead.

"Oi, Zoro! If you have something to say, then say it!" she complained, but her intentions were good. Zoro whacked her arm away, which was to be expected so Nami didn't care much. He frowned at her antics and stood with a frustrated grunt; his katana clanging together all the while. Having dreams of the past? It was pretty pathetic if you asked Zoro. He was never the one to look back. He continued to look eternally forward until the day he was sent to his very grave.

"What gave you the idea I had something to say?" the swordsman crossed his muscular arms, creasing his dark green yukata. He blinked a couple times before realizing Nami had refused to answer him. She looked a bit concerned, but the expression faded after a couple seconds of staring at a sleepy Zoro.

Nami simply smiled. "Ah... no reason." And then bounced away. Zoro frowned for the fifth time since he woke and slowly made his way down the stairs towards the middle deck, which actually had grass growing, so it was actually quite comfortable. He made a mental note of where everyone was; Nami and Robin sunbathing... again, Luffy, Usopp, Brooke, and Franky were playing cards while Chopper watched with extreme amusement and the cook... well, who cared about that damned idiot? Thanks to Chopper and his sparkling eyes, it didn't take long for Zoro to get sucked into the card game as well. Yes, it confused the hell out of him, but whenever one of his crewmates made a boasting gesture, he knew they had gotten a point.

"Three aces, beat that!" Usopp announced, revealing his cards with a confident smile on his face. Zoro attempted to look over Chopper, but ever since the reindeer decided to plop himself on Zoro's lap, it was impossible to see any of the game.

"Oi, Chopper, you're in the-" Zoro began, but a quick whack in the face with a hoof was more than enough to shut him up.

"Usopp! You can do it! You're amazing!" Chopper encouraged, flailing his little furry arms around so much that it continued to smash into Zoro's nose, which indeed had started bleeding. Zoro smacked Chopper on the back of the head before he was able to get a seventh hit in.

"Heehee! Six aces! I win!" Luffy laughed, stretching his arm out in order to grab the cards out of Usopp's hands. Huh. Zoro always thought there were four aces to a deck, so...

"Cheater! Anyone with half a brain would know you cheated!" Brooke laughed, but Zoro frowned. He knew exactly what the skeleton was planning. "Ah. But I have no brain!" No duh.

"Luffy cheated! He's disqualified!" Chopper demanded, standing up on his hoofs, but still just as tall as a sitting Zoro.

"Did not!" Luffy defended himself with little effort.

"Did to!" Usopp threw in.

"Did not! Times a million!"

"Did to! Times a million plus one!"

Luffy went silent.

"Guys!" Zoro turned his head to see the cook at the lower deck's entrance, wearing a blue apron and holding a wooden spoon. "Lunch will be ready in five, so if you're not there, Luffy will eat all of it!"

Luffy cheered, clapping his hands and placed his sandals together, rocking back and forth. Zoro was amazed at how elated Luffy could get for extra food. Was he just a hungry person or a hungry raccoon?

"Will you be squeezing lime, as well, Cook-san?" Robin appeared on the upper deck, smiling and crossing her arms.

"Ah! Of course, Robin-chwan!" the ero-cook spun around, which made him look like a ballerina... or just a complete idiot. It seemed as if his eyes turned into two hearts. He shimmered up the small set of stairs in order to get closer to her, which made her giggle.

"Sanji! Can I have a glass of orange juice?" Zoro heard Nami call.

"Hai! Nami-swan!" the idiot cook added, pissing Zoro off. Nothing the cook did... didn't piss Zoro off. Although, despite the fact that they always fought and basically hated each other to the core, the cook was most definitely the best cook on board! No sarcasm intended. All of the comments about limes and oranges made the swordsman hungry, as well, and it also piqued his interest.

"What are you making?" Zoro asked, feeling his stomach rumble underneath his belly warmer. Sanji stopped swaying over the women and raised a curly eyebrow, turning to look at Zoro with a curious expression on his face.

"When have you ever cared what I make, stupid marimo," Sanji insulted with a genuine smirk on his ugly face. The insult pissed Zoro off. The usual start of a bad fight.

"Since you made shit that gave me a headache, ero-cook," Zoro pushed back, standing up. Sanji stomped his way over to Zoro and grabbed his yukata, trying to be intimidating.

"What was that, you bastard? You wanna fight?"

Zoro smirked, as well. "You didn't hear me?"

In the midst of fighting, Zoro felt within him: relief. The dream of the past put the swordsman on edge. Talking with Nami, watching Luffy cheat, fighting with the damned cook… it all put his mind back in place. He was part of the Mugiwara crew, nothing more, nothing less. Ignoring the cheating, the yelling, and the fighting, it was actually quite a peaceful day on the Mugiwara's pirate ship. Unfortunately, peace never lasted long when it involved the Straw Hat crew.

"ZORO!"

The entire crew threw their heads up. Of course, all they saw was the bright blue sky with scarce clouds. Zoro, being the complicated person he was, spoke in the most complicated way he could think of; all his feelings summed up in two words, spoken with extreme care.

"The hell?" Zoro rested his left arm on the hilt of the white katana at his side.

Usopp shrugged and Luffy pointed upwards, grinning his usual, huge grin. "The sky called you, Zoro! OI! SKY! ZORO'S DOWN HERE!" Luffy screamed back, flailing his arms around and pointed at Zoro between each rest.

"NANI! The sky can talk!" Chopper screamed, flailing his own arms, or furry hoofs, as well. Usopp joined, too, but then Robin came down the steps from the top deck, sliding her sunglasses up onto her forehead, pulling her dark hair back.

"Swordsman-san, are you expecting someone?" Robin asked with a giggle and joined Nami, who had finally stood from tanning and was also looking vertically.

"Of course not!" Zoro replied, angry that someone as smart as Robin was playing along in such a stupid charade. The sky can't talk and that's that.

"Ah! I see something!" Franky announced, pointing towards something shiny that seemed miles up into the sky. The sun glinted off of the object, causing Zoro to wince his single eye. A shadow was finally looming over the Sunny Go, proving that the object was indeed falling. It got bigger and bigger until it became the shape of a human. Zoro squinted in order to see a little clearer. However, he felt his mind, once again fog up, when he recognized the golden hair and the unnaturally huge sword that was on the figure's back. His eye grew as wide as the moon and Zoro felt his heart skip a couple beats. It was…

The figure landed cruelly on Sunny, not far from where Usopp and Chopper were standing. The harsh impact caused Sunny to dip forward, tossing up some sea water, and rocked back and forth. Usopp and Chopper tumbled forward, knocking into each other, while the rest of the Straw Hat crew, even Nami, was able to stay balanced. The figure stood up straight when the Sunny Go finally rested and continued to move according to the wind pattern. The man was garbed in a dark blue cloak that covered all but his head, which had shaggy blonde hair and a sword that resembled a two-handed broadsword hung on his back at an angle. The man lifted his head and used his hand to run through his hair, brushing it out of his eyes, revealing a grin of incredible happiness.

"Yo! Zoro!" he chimed, paying no attention to the other confused pirates.

Zoro breathed in. "… Shunsuke."

So... how was it? Please comment! I've just gotten over writer's block! Help me out and R&R! Also, I just recently changed up this chapter a bit, so feel free to read it over! I bet you'll think its better!